The University Athletic Association of the Philippines has cleared Ateneo de Manila University to compete in Season 89 despite the June 8 team-building tragedy in Dipaculao, Aurora that claimed the lives of student-athletes Rene Clert Baterbonia and Chukwuemeka Divine Adili, while imposing a lifetime ban on former Blue Eagles head coach Thomas Anthony Baldwin and suspending seven other members of the team’s coaching and support staff.
In a statement released Friday, the UAAP Board said Ateneo’s men’s basketball team would remain eligible to participate in the upcoming season after taking into consideration the players’ expressed desire to honor the memories of their fallen teammates through competition. However, the league required the university to undertake a comprehensive reassessment of the organizational structure and management of its men’s basketball program to strengthen student-athlete protection, welfare, accountability, and institutional oversight.
The sanctions stemmed from the UAAP’s administrative review of Ateneo’s internal investigation and the publicly released reports of the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and the National Bureau of Investigation. The Board said Ateneo representatives recused themselves from its final deliberations and decision-making process.
The UAAP noted the findings of the investigating government agencies, including their recommendation not to hold the student-athletes present during the incident liable. It added that the Ateneo men’s basketball players are themselves victims of the tragedy.
The Board imposed a perpetual ban on Baldwin from all UAAP competitions and related activities in any coaching, administrative, advisory, or official capacity. He is also prohibited from entering any UAAP competition venue, with the sanction declared final and not subject to appeal.
Also suspended from all UAAP competitions and related activities until further determination by the Board were team manager Christopher John Quimpo, assistant coaches Dean Caesar Castaño, Sandro Nicholas Romero Soriano, Reynaldo Jacinto Jr., Hernan Ameer Domingo, Caesar Vincent Javellana Elumba and Grant Dearns, and physical therapist John Eric Rueca. They are likewise barred from entering UAAP competition venues in an official capacity during the suspension, although the penalties may be appealed under league rules.
The UAAP said its sanctions were intended to be both protective and restorative, aimed at ensuring accountability, strengthening safeguards for student-athlete welfare, addressing the harm caused by the incident, and fostering a safer environment across the league.
The league also extended its condolences to the families of Baterbonia and Adili, describing their deaths as “an immeasurable loss to the community.”
