UAAP bans Tab Baldwin for life, clears Ateneo players to compete

FILE– Former Ateneo Blue Eagles coach Tab Baldwin during a UAAP Season 88 second round matchup against La Salle.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—The UAAP on Friday officially handed down sanctions for all those involved in the Ateneo drowning incident in Dipaculao, Aurora, that claimed the lives of student-athletes Rene Baterbonia and Divine Adili.

Blue Eagles coach Tab Baldwin, who has since resigned from his post, has been permanently banned from the league and is also barred from entering any UAAP competition venue.

Baldwin’s sanction is not appealable.

The decision came from Ateneo’s internal investigation upon administrative review of the publicized official reports of the Philippine National Police–Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

Aside from Baldwin, team officials involved in the tragic deaths of Baterbonia and Adili were also handed sanctions.

Team Manager Christopher John Quimpo, assistant coaches Dean Caesar Castaño, Sandro, Nicholas Romero Soriano, Reynaldo Jacinto Jr., Hernan Ameer Domingo, Caesar Vincent, Javellana Elumba, Grant Dearns and physical therapist John Eric Rue are all banned from UAAP participation.

Unlike Baldwin’s sanction, however, their bans are appealable.

More importantly, the league determined that the survivors of the drowning incident were victims. Thus, they will be allowed to compete in the upcoming Season 89 men’s basketball tournament.

“[T]he Ateneo men’s basketball team shall remain eligible to compete in UAAP Season 89, taking into consideration the expressed desire of these student-athletes to honor the memories of their fallen teammates through competition,” the league wrote.

The university, however, is required to undertake a “comprehensive reassessment” of the organizational structure and management of its men’s basketball team in relation to the university’s entire athletics program as a “precondition” for their participation.