The Philippines team taking part in the Asian Youth Games (AYG) football competition were released from quarantine at the Aloha Loyang Resorts on Friday morning. --ST PHOTO: LAU FOOK KONG
THERE were smiles and tears aplenty as the Philippines team taking part in the Asian Youth Games (AYG) football competition were released from quarantine at the Aloha Loyang Resorts on Friday morning.
All 20 members of the squad left the holiday chalets at 8am, marking the end of a seven-day ordeal which began last Saturday when one of their teammates tested positive for the Influenza A (H1N1) virus.
They were greeted by their parents and local sports officials, who staged a surprise for the boys by arriving on the same bus which was to ferry them from the resort.
But their trip here continued to be dogged by bad luck. A massive traffic jam on the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE) this morning led them to miss the opening of the Games Village at Swissotel.
Instead, the team headed straight to their rooms, before heading off for a training session.
The Filipinos will play a friendly match on Saturday with a Singapore Selection side, to make up for the disappointment of missing out on the AYG football competition.
Their sick teammate remains in stable condition at the Communicable Disease Centre, while four other infected footballers from Hong Kong are also in stable condition, at the Singapore General Hospital.
