Ateneo de Manila University men’s basketball team will remain eligible to compete in UAAP Season 89 despite the sanctions imposed on members of its coaching and support staff following the tragic deaths of two Blue Eagles student-athletes in Dipaculao, Aurora.
In its administrative review, the UAAP Board noted the findings of the Philippine National Police–Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and the National Bureau of Investigation, which did not make any recommendation to hold liable the student-athletes who were present during the June 8 team-building activity.
With this, the Board recognized that the Ateneo men’s basketball student-athletes are “themselves victims of this tragedy.”
“In light of these findings, the Ateneo men’s basketball team shall remain eligible to compete in UAAP Season 89,” the UAAP said, citing the players’ expressed desire to “honor the memories of their fallen teammates through competition.”
The Blue Eagles, however, will have to meet a major precondition for their continued participation in the league.
The UAAP Board directed Ateneo to conduct a “comprehensive reassessment” of the organizational structure and management of its men’s basketball team in relation to the university’s entire athletics program.
The reassessment is intended to strengthen “student-athlete protection, welfare, accountability, and institutional oversight.”
The decision allows Ateneo’s players to continue competing even as the UAAP imposed sanctions on several members of the team’s coaching and support staff following its review of the circumstances surrounding the tragedy.
Head coach Thomas Anthony Baldwin was permanently banned from all UAAP competitions and related activities in any coaching, administrative, advisory, or official capacity.
Team manager Epok Quimpo, assistant coaches Dean Castaño, Sandro Soriano, Jon Jacinto Jr., Buboy Domingo, CJ Elumba, and Grant Dearns, along with physical therapist Jerick Rueca, were suspended from participation in all UAAP competitions and related activities until further determination by the Board.
Despite the sanctions, the league stressed that its approach is both “protective and restorative.”
The UAAP said the sanctions are intended to “ensure accountability, strengthen safeguards for the welfare and best interests of all student-athletes, address the harm caused by this incident, and reinforce the lessons learned to foster a safer and more responsible environment across the league.”
The Blue Eagles’ Season 89 campaign will thus continue, with the team set to carry the memories of Rene Clert Baterbonia and Chukwuemeka Divine Adili into the new UAAP season.
The UAAP again extended its “deepest condolences” to the families and loved ones of Baterbonia and Adili, whose deaths it described as “an immeasurable loss to the community.”
