Of bonfires, waves, and the Jesuit ideal

I have never joined the championship parades, motorcades, bonfires, and fireworks displays that periodically transform the Ateneo de Manila campus into a sea of blue and white jubilation. But I have watched them from a distance while staying at the San Jose Seminary building, still within the university grounds. From there, one could see and hear the collective ecstasy of victory.

I remember the celebrations when the Lady Eagles captured back-to-back University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) volleyball crowns in Seasons 76 and 77 behind Alyssa Valdez and coach Anusorn “Tai” Bundit. I remember, too, the second three-peat era of the men’s basketball team from 2017 to 2019, led by Thirdy Ravena and coach Tab Baldwin. Championship celebrations possess a peculiar power. They create a sense of belonging, prestige, and sometimes even a touch of elitism. Alumni wear their pride openly. Students drape themselves in championship jerseys. Faculty members become fans. Jesuit priests fill the stands. For a few glorious days, victory becomes a shared identity.

Those who followed Ateneo sports closely knew that success was never handed out freely. Bundit, famous for his cheerful dancing on the sidelines, was equally known for demanding extraordinary physical and mental discipline from his players. His training methods often bordered on the Spartan, designed to build not merely stronger athletes but tougher competitors. Baldwin’s philosophy has long rested on similar foundations. Beyond tactics and talent, he emphasized resilience, accountability, discipline, and mental fortitude. Players underwent punishing practices and demanding off-court activities intended to push them beyond perceived limits. For years, these methods were celebrated because they produced championships. In sports, winning has a way of transforming hardship into legend. The harder the journey, the sweeter the triumph.

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Then came the waves of Aurora. In a matter of moments, two young lives, Rene Clert Baterbonia and Divine Adili, were lost during a team-building activity that was supposed to strengthen bonds among teammates. The sea, indifferent to trophies, traditions, and championship banners, turned a routine exercise into a national tragedy. Almost immediately, questions arose. Should Ateneo officials be held accountable? Should Baldwin bear responsibility? Should the UAAP investigate and impose sanctions if violations are discovered? These questions deserve answers. Accountability is not the enemy of compassion. Parents who entrusted their children to an institution have every right to demand explanations when those children do not return home.

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There is an uncomfortable truth that many would rather avoid. When championships are won, everyone wants a share of the glory. Players become heroes. Coaches become visionaries. Administrators become stewards of excellence. Alumni proudly identify with the institution. Success becomes a communal achievement. But when tragedy strikes, the celebration quickly dissolves into accusation. Fingers point in every direction. This does not mean legitimate concerns should be dismissed. It simply means that fairness requires the same discipline we expect from athletes themselves. Investigations must establish whether negligence occurred, whether safety measures were adequate, and whether avoidable mistakes contributed to the untimely demise of these young men.

The tragedy also forces a deeper examination of the educational philosophy that has long shaped Ateneo athletics. The American Jesuits who introduced basketball to the university more than a century ago never regarded sports merely as entertainment. Their philosophy of cura personalis, care for the whole person, held that education must develop mind, body, and spirit together. In that tradition, athletics became an extension of the classroom. The court was a place where leadership could be forged, character tested, humility learned, and resilience cultivated. Yet every philosophy eventually encounters its most difficult test: the reality of human fragility.

Perhaps that is the lesson that remains after the noise of public debate has faded. Athletes willingly submit themselves to exhausting regimens in pursuit of greatness, but they are not soldiers preparing for war. They are students entrusted to schools that bear a duty of care. Universities exist not merely to collect trophies but to form human beings. If investigations uncover negligence, sanctions should follow regardless of Ateneo’s prestige. No institution should be above accountability.

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The bonfires will burn again. New championships will be won. New heroes will emerge wearing blue and white. But long after the cheers have faded and the fireworks have disappeared into the night sky, the waves of Aurora leave behind a question more enduring than any trophy: whether institutions dedicated to forming the whole person can remember that no victory, however glorious, is ever worth more than the life of a student entrusted to their care.

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Fr. Cyrain Cabuenas is a Catholic priest from Borongan, Eastern Samar, who currently serves in the State of Vermont. He is a former correspondent of the Philippine Daily Inquirer Visayas bureau.

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