Two student-athletes from Ateneo de Manila University’s men’s basketball team said that Blue Eagles players underwent multiple meetings and briefings on rip currents and other sea hazards days before the tragic training camp in Dipaculao, Aurora, which claimed the lives of teammates Rene Baterbonia and Divine Adili.
In an interview with Pia Hontiveris on her Let’s Talk podcast at the Pod Network, Kieffer Alas and Sam Reyes stated that head coach Tab Baldwin held a pre-departure discussion covering rip current behavior, how to escape one, and the dangers posed by an uneven seafloor at the beach.
Alas added that the briefing included specific instructions on escaping a rip current, emphasizing that swimmers should move perpendicular to the shoreline rather than against the current, as well as a warning that the seafloor could shift unpredictably underfoot.
“We had meetings before [the Aurora] training that Coach Tab explained about the rip currents and how to get out of a rip. We talked about it a couple of days before. We had a pretty long discussion about it,” Alas said.
“They warned us about the uneven sand. You can randomly go back down and up.”
Reyes, a third-year Interdisciplinary Studies student, and Alas, an incoming freshman who will take up Psychology, are among the survivors of the tragic incident involving Baterbonia and Adili.
Both players also said that despite the safety reminders from Baldwin, the overall atmosphere leading into the camp was marked more by excitement and anticipation than concern.
This comes after Ateneo president Fr. Roberto Yap, SJ, revealed in a press conference that the week-long team-building activity of the men’s basketball team had long been a tradition, dating back to the tenure of Baldwin’s predecessors.
Yap also noted that prior to this year’s camp in Dipaculao, Aurora, it was the fourth or fifth time Baldwin had brought the team to the same resort in the province.
The players added that they were instructed to bring gear suitable for sand and water training, including running shoes, cycling shorts, and training shirts.
“Probably the idea of getting tired, but other than that, we were pretty excited,” Alas said.
“They were just telling us to pack a lot of gear — shorts, socks. And they were telling us that we’re going to do a lot of work on the sand and water,” Reyes added.
Alas and Reyes also strongly denied that Baldwin’s Aurora team-building activity involved initiation rites, pushing back against online speculation that surfaced following the incident.
Before the camp, Alas said Baldwin reminded the Blue Eagles that the team-building activity was “for us to get closer and to build that mental toughness.”
“It just hurts how people perceive it that way. I know my veterans wouldn’t even think of that. They wouldn’t do that to me or any of the other rookies,” Alas said. “It’s just hard to see it online.
“Coach Tab was saying that the team building was for us to get closer and to build that mental toughness. To get us closer, like a brotherhood. He tried to incorporate the BEBOB — Blue Eagles Band of Brothers,” he added.
The initiation allegations prompted the Philippine National Police–Criminal Investigation and Detection Group to issue subpoenas to more than 20 individuals within the team as part of a fact-finding investigation into possible violations of the Anti-Hazing Act of 2018.
Earlier today, one-and-done player EJ Kapihe appeared before the National Bureau of Investigation, while former Blue Eagles players Kyle Ong, Anton Asistio, Geo Chiu, Kymani Ladi, Dom Escobar, and others also presented themselves to authorities.
