DUBAI: A Filipino basketball player fell unconscious in the middle of the game and died within seconds during the opening of the Winter League Basketball Tournament in Sonapur, Thursday evening.
Philippine Consul Ferdinand Flores has confirmed that he signed the death certificate of Christopher Deloro, 38, a member of the Ajman basketball team from a leading fuel marketing company.
Flores oversaw the cancellation of his passport and NOC for the immediate repatriation of the body, reported Khaleej Times. Deloro’s father, who is also working in Dubai, processed the paperwork.
The winter basketball tournament, which started simultaneously at the Al Qouz and Sonapur labor accommodations, has been suspended temporarily after the tragic news. It will resume on October 24, the report said.
“The tournament had started on Thursday after an inaugural function. The game was progressing well, but one of the players collapsed and fell unconscious. He was taking rest and another player replaced him during the third quarter of the game. He fell head-first on to the ground when he was resting,” an eyewitness reportedly said.
Deloro died of a heart attack, the report pointed out.
A member of the basketball team reportedly said: “I did not see what was happening because I was playing. One of my teammates shouted and called my name. Deloro had scored one point. It’s so sad that he is not with us any more to score again.”
The game was stopped immediately and an ambulance was called. “Paramedics tried to revive Christopher, but he was not responding. When all efforts to resuscitate him failed, they called a second ambulance and rushed him to Al Rashid Hospital in Dubai. The doctors there pronounced him dead on arrival,” a friend of the deceased was quoted as saying.
Deloro, who is married with a son, was planning to go to his hometown in the Philippines for a vacation on November 8. He had already booked their air tickets, reported Khaleej Times.
He used to work at a fuel station in Ajman. His father, brother and sister are working in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the report said.
