Stranded PH U-18 squad rescued at QC gym

Some of the members of the PH Under 18 Youth squad pose with head coach Olsen Racela while waiting for the flood outside SGS gym in Quezon City subside Monday night.

MANILA, Philippines — Stranded overnight due to flooding around Araneta Avenue in Quezon City, the Philippine U-18 Squad was finally rescued Tuesday afternoon at the SGS gym where they had stayed.

With only drinking water left, the youth squad, along with coaches Olsen and Nash Racela, needed to evacuate after getting stranded in the third floor of the facility since 6 p.m. Monday.

“We’re trapped in the third level. No food, but we’re safe because we’re at a high place,” said Nash Racela on his Twitter account (@scwNT).

“The boys are hungry, they’re just sleeping it away,” Racela also said in Filipino.

The flood at Araneta Avenue and the surrounding areas reached critical level Tuesday morning, and there was no other way for the team and the staff to leave the building but through rubberized boats.

The first batch of players and chaperones waded through the waters with their rescuers while the rest waited for more help to come.
“Finally, rescue came,” posted Olsen Racela (@TheBigOls), who even thought the water would eventually subside in about three hours Monday night, but didn’t.

Food of sardines and noodles were only good for dinner.
The team, composed of mostly highschools students preparing for the Fiba-Asia tournament in Mongolia this August, had to spend the night as the rains started to pour right around the time of their training.