Ateneo: Basketball team retreat a tradition, 5th time at Aurora resort

MANILA, Philippines — The Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) management has admitted that the week-long team-building of its men’s basketball team has been a traditional activity, extending to the time of former head coach Tab Baldwin’s predecessors.

In a press conference on Monday afternoon, ADMU president Fr. Roberto Yap, SJ, said that based on what he knows, the tradition was already present when Norman Black was coaching the Blue Eagles.

Black, who was one of Ateneo’s most celebrated coaches for leading the Blue Eagles to multiple championship runs, started coaching the team in 2005. Baldwin, meanwhile, started coaching Ateneo in 2016, until his recent resignation following the death of men’s basketball team members Rene Baterbonia and Divine Adili due to drowning during a team-building event.

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READ: Who is Tab Baldwin? Ateneo coach faces scrutiny after tragedy

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“As far as I know, this team-building activities where they go out, this has happened even during the time of Norman Black, when Norman Black was the coach before. So, during those years,” Yap said.

“During Coach Tab’s time, I think this is the fourth or fifth visit to that same place in Aurora.  So this is a tradition, it was just stopped during the pandemic, but that’s it, they go there for a week and do team-building, along with training and conditioning, et cetera,” he added.

Earlier, Yap confirmed that ADMU has accepted the resignation of men’s basketball team head coach Tab Baldwin.

The university president read a statement wherein Ateneo apologized to the bereaved families and the communities, saying that they must “look inward” and evaluate its system to ensure that student-athletes will remain safe and fulfill their dreams.

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“Two young men entrusted to our care did not return home, and that fact breaks our hearts.  No explanation, context, or words can undo that loss. We face this moment with absolute humility and we ask your prayers and your forgiveness,” he added.

READ: Ateneo head apologizes: 2 young men entrusted to us didn’t return home

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Ateneo announced Baterbonia and Adili’s deaths last Monday, while the team was in the middle of a team-building activity in Dipaculao, Aurora. Baterbonia, 19, recently played in the Palarong Pambansa finals two weeks ago and committed to the Blue Eagles program, while 21-year-old Nigerian foreign student Adili played in the UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball tournament.

Initial report from the Police Regional Office 3 stated that Baterbonia and Adili “were swimming when they were reportedly carried by a strong current into deeper waters.”

Police said an investigation is underway.

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

Several lawmakers have vowed to file a resolution seeking a congressional inquiry on the incident.

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According to members of the House of Representatives’ Young Guns bloc, the investigation will allow lawmakers to craft laws that will ensure the safety of student-athletes. /das