Basketball Player Suffers Fractured Vertebrae After Backboard Falls on Him

Professional Australian basketball player, Ben Griscti, is recovering after a backboard fell on top of him during practice.

The Adelaide 36ers player, 23, sustained a fractured vertebrae on Saturday, Aug. 30, after the hoop’s backboard collapsed following a teammate’s dunk at Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) Arena in Canberra, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and the Adelaide 36ers basketball team.

On Monday, Sept. 1, the team confirmed in a press release that Griscti would be missing the start of the NBL season.

“Ben was injured when a backboard collapsed on top of him during the team’s shoot around at the AIS Arena, ahead of the side’s final NBL Blitz game,” the release read.

The athlete reportedly waited for an ambulance for over 90 minutes despite the hospital being only five minutes away by car, according to ABC.

“There were a number of other emergencies in the territory at the time of that call,” ACT Ambulance Service chief officer David Dutton told the outlet.

PEOPLE has contacted the ACT Ambulance Service, the Australian Government’s Office for Sport, the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) Arena and the South Australia Police for comment.

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“As soon as we were able to dispatch a paramedic crew to that patient they attended, and they transported that patient in a stable condition through to the emergency department,” he continued.

Dutton told the outlet that the case was reviewed, and “it was appropriately triaged as a priority two response for ACT Ambulance — so that is a non-lights and sirens response.”

He added that Griscti was “conscious, alert and breathing the whole time” and was assisted by a team doctor before the ambulance arrived.

“There was no change in the patient’s condition and therefore, no change to the priority of the ambulance response,” he stated. 

Despite the fracture, Griscti won’t require surgery and has since returned home, according to his team.

“He has travelled home to Adelaide and a timeline for him to return to the court will not be set until he is able to get further medical advice to determine the next steps around the management of the injury,” they concluded in their statement.

The NBL also said in a release they were “deeply saddened” about Griscti’s “serious injury during training at the AIS Arena on Saturday, August 30.”

“The NBL has been in direct contact to offer support to Ben, his family and the Adelaide 36ers. The welfare of all players and staff is our highest priority,” they added. “The NBL is working with AIS Arena on the matter.”

Griscti thanked everyone for “the messages of support and concern,” adding that he’ll “be back soon,” per the NBL Instagram page.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the Australian Sports Commission, the operator of AIS Arena, also told ABC that they would be taking the case “seriously” and “will be looking into the incident.”