Kieffer Alas and Sam Reyes, members of the Ateneo de Manila University men’s basketball team, refuted on Tuesday two rumors that circulated online regarding the drowning incident that led to the untimely passing of teammates Rene Baterbonia and Divine Adili during a “team building” activity in Aurora.
in an interview with Pia Hontiveros in her Let’s Talk podcast at the Pod Network, the two were asked about the rumors that added to the confusion and anger of the public seeking answers over the past week.
The incident happened on Monday, June 8, in Dipaculao, Aurora.
Alas, an incoming freshman, and Reyes, an incoming junior, said it was not true that aside from their two departed teammates, others also needed reviving.
“No po. Ang pinakamalala lang po ay nagsusuka na po sila sa beach. We were puking out the water,” Reyes said.
The second rumor they denied was that they were ordered not to speak about the issue.
Reyes clarified that right after the tragedy, coaches instructed them not to speak about it first so the parents could be informed directly.
“At first, po nung Monday after the tragedy po, sinabi po sa amin ng coaches po like, don’t tell anyone about what happened para po ma-inform po muna nila yung parents. So they wanted to inform the parents first po bago po malaman po from other social media na. They wanted to be the ones,” Reyes said.
Alas, meanwhile, added that speaking about the incident was not easy for them, even without any gag order.
“Me and Sam talked about it. We couldn’t really grasp and just didn’t sink in what happened so we were just — we kept it in, we were like, we didn’t… It’s just so hard to talk because we couldn’t accept na nawala po yung dalawang teammate po namin. It was just hard for us to accept and mourn about it,” Alas said.
(C) Pia Hontiveros
With unverified information and speculation dominating the narrative, Alas felt Ateneo could have done a better job of releasing information.
The two also revealed that they have been receiving death threats in connection with the incident.
“Honestly, yes po,” Alas said when asked if he thinks the rumors would not have spread if Ateneo had released information more swiftly. “I feel like the speculations and rumors and the threats and hate toward us players were due to maybe not enough information, so that made them guess from all the photos and pictures and hearsay around. I think that’s what caused this din.
“It’s like going through two deaths po. The first one is losing our two teammates, then now being criticized for their deaths,” Alas added. “We lost them, we witnessed it happen, then, I don’t know. Every social media person or anybody, they’re just putting the blame on us. It’s just hard to put into words, but this is what we’ve been feeling like the past week.
He admitted, “We can’t really talk to anybody about it. Like me and Sam, we had a hard time going here. Kami, we usually voice out our anger to our teammates lang because we experienced it with each other.”
Holding back tears, Reyes shared that he still feels guilt, believing he could have done more to save his fallen teammates.
Reyes also detailed on the podcast how the incident unfolded and where they were during the strong waves. He struggled to save himself despite knowing how to swim, at one point feeling like giving up due to exhaustion while fighting the current.
“I feel guilt lang po. Rene was beside me (during the water exercises) and parang I felt na I could’ve done more na para hindi siya malunod. It was eating me alive, na there were times na I was just awake. That night po mismo when we were still in Baler, Aurora, it was already 12. I tried to sleep and I would still see his face like when I was carrying him, I saw his face. When I tried to sleep, I would see his face,” Reyes said.
“Tapos nung nakatulog po ako for a bit, I woke up suddenly around 3 a.m. and then parang in disbelief because we were roommates, Rene and Divine. I would like to see them in their beds like the last time I saw them. So parang I just went out to take a breath, but parang I was just wandering, walking endlessly po,” he went on.
“I was thinking na this was just a bad dream and I have to wake up from it, until Waki’s mom went up to me and we just started talking about what happened and it kind of eased the burden of guilt and sadness po, kasi I was able to talk to her. Parang after ilang minutes, she told me to go to sleep. I tried to sleep but yun po, nakatulog po ng onti.
“It’s just hard po, the comments, that they’re saying na we’re just jealous, na we did it because we’re jealous. It’s just killing us kasi we were there. We lost two of our brothers. Parang sobrang sakit po kasi na, nabuhay nga po kami pero parang pinapatay po kami.”
