Ateneo de Manila University head coach Tab Baldwin admitted Friday evening that he had failed as a leader, coach, and friend to deceased Blue Eagles players Rene Baterbonia and Divine Adili, who both passed away during a team-building activity in Dipaculao, Aurora last Monday.
The address marked Baldwin’s first public statement in over four days since the passing of Baterbonia and Adili on June 8, a delay that ultimately prompted Philippine Sports Commission chairman Pato Gregorio to publicly urge the American-Kiwi coach to speak out.
“At that moment, I felt that I had failed. I failed as a leader. I felt I had failed as a coach. I certainly felt like I had failed as a friend to Divine and Rene. And when later I faced the team to try to be a leader in that moment, I felt that I failed them, too,” Baldwin said.
Baldwin explained that what began as a routine conditioning exercise turned fatal, as players were sent out for what they believed was a simple training run in shallow water.
However, the situation took a turn for the worse when Baldwin and his coaching staff realized the athletes were already caught in deeper, dangerous currents.
“On that fateful day when we sent the players out for a routine training run and what we thought was shallow water, up to the moment when we realized that whatever had happened, they were in dangerous water,” Baldwin said.
“And we did everything that we could as coaches, as people responsible for that situation. The players themselves did everything they could to ensure that everybody arrived back on shore safely. And then we realized that we hadn’t accomplished that,” he added.
Baldwin also spoke at length about the weight of his responsibility to the families of Baterbonia and Adili, acknowledging that while he grieved as a mentor and friend, the depth of the families’ loss far surpassed his own.
Both families have expressed disappointment over how Ateneo, particularly Baldwin, has handled the situation.
Rovelyn Baterbonia, Rene’s mother, said Baldwin has yet to reach out to her and that she is not yet ready to face him. The family’s legal team — led by Jimmy Bondoc and Israelito Torreon — is separately seeking an immigration lookout bulletin order against Baldwin from the Department of Justice.
On the other hand, Divine Adili’s father, Elias Adili, said yesterday that their family is still searching for answers regarding the circumstances surrounding his son’s death, with the family requesting an autopsy before his remains are repatriated to Nigeria.
“We are carrying immense sorrow. We’re carrying immense grief. We’re carrying immense remorse. But I’ve known since the moment that I was told that our boys had passed away that no matter the magnitude of our grief, there were two families that experienced a loss that was so much greater than ours and a loss that would stay with them in the most acute way for the remainder of their lives,” Baldwin said.
“Never again would Rene’s mother and father and family, never again would Divine’s family be able to talk to their son or touch their son,” he went on.
Baldwin also said his deepest regret lies in the fact that he will never again be able to help Baterbonia and Adili develop into the basketball players and young men they were capable of becoming.
Baterbonia, an 18-year-old forward from Talacogon, Agusan del Sur, was one of the top prospects of his class. He led the Davao Region to the 2025 Palarong Pambansa championship, where he was named MVP.
Meanwhile, Adili, a 6-foot-10 center from Nigeria, was poised for a breakout campaign in Season 89 after contributing 7.5 points and 8.17 rebounds in an injury-derailed Season 88 campaign.
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“Yes, as a coach, I lost my boys, too. Never again would I be able to help them develop into the basketball players they wanted to be, to help them grow into the young men that they promised they could be. But that’s insignificant compared to what your families are experiencing,” Baldwin said.
“As a coach, we are entrusted with the growth of our basketball players, the development of these young men into future professionals. But mostly, as a coach, I’m entrusted by you, the parents and the families, with first and foremost, their well-being. And in this, I feel I’ve failed. And I’m sorry. To the depth of my being, I’m sorry,” he added.
Baldwin closed his eight-minute video by extending his apology beyond the two families, addressing everyone who felt let down or betrayed in the wake of the tragedy.
He also called for unity and healing, urging the Blue Eagles community and the nation to move forward together rooted in faith.
“So as we all try to move forward without Divine and Rene, I hope that in binding together as a community, as a basketball team, and as a nation, that we lean on the one place that will never let us down, and that is our Lord. I’m so deeply sorry. And I’m so deeply sorry to not just the families, but everybody that feels let down, somehow betrayed,” Baldwin said.
“And I pray that we all find some pathway forward to come back to hope for the future, love for one another, and forgiveness for those of us who failed and tried so desperately hard to reach a better outcome. I wish peace for everybody. I wish comfort for everybody who is hurting. And I pray that we will all find that. God bless you all. And we are trying. Thank you.”
As of writing, the Department of Labor and Employment, the Department of the Interior and Local Government, the National Bureau of Investigation, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group under the Philippine National Police, and the Department of Justice are leading investigations into the tragedy that claimed the lives of Baterbonia and Adili.
