Ateneo players’ deaths put spotlight on Blue Eagles ‘bootcamp’

FILE–Ateneo big man Divine Adili during the UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball tournament.- Adili and Rene Baterbonia died in a drowning incident in Aurora.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines–The death of two players from the Ateneo men’s basketball program has put under the microscope the team-building activity in the province of Aurora that was a staple since the early years of Tab Baldwin’s coaching tenure.

Spliced videos from former Blue Eagles recalling their grueling experiences became viral shortly after promising Rene Baterbonia and foreign student athlete Divine Adili perished in a drowning incident that local authorities described as “purely accidental.”

READ: Ateneo players ‘were swimming when carried by strong current’

Mike Nieto, Shaun Ildefonso, Anton Asistio and SJ Belangel recalled the “bootcamp-style” sessions in separate podcasts that came out several months ago, prompting a slew of reactions from netizens.

But Shaggy Allmond, also a former Ateneo player for its Team B squad, was quick to say that their comments should not take those interviews “out of context” and that the camps “had nothing to do with ‘initiation.’”

Allmond’s post was later shared by Asistio on his social media account, with Nieto also sharing it on his Instagram story.

The camp had been cited as a reason for Ateneo’ success during the championship seasons under Baldwin, particularly those who took part in Blue Eagles’ run to three straight UAAP titles from 2017 to 2019.

READ: CIDG probing drowning of Ateneo’s Baterbonia, Adili – police

It was also there that they were able to form the so-called winning culture known as BEBOB, or “Blue Eagles Band of Brothers” due to the hardships endured and formed brotherhood.

“It was built around the fact that it was very difficult for young men who are at the height of their physical prowess, all of whom have egos that are fed by loving parents, adoring girlfriends, adoring fans, victories along the way, and these egos need to be broken down and submitted to the whole purpose,” Baldwin said after Ateneo won Season 80 title over La Salle.

“The best way to break ego is to break the man, reduce the man to a state where he can’t do things on his own, that he requires the assistance of others in order to accomplish something.”

Baldwin also said after that championship run that he took that practice from Bear Bryant, a legendary coach in the American college football scene.