No UAAP player suspensions for the Blue Eagles.
Two months after the fatal team l-building activity in Aurora that resulted in the deaths of Rene Baterbonia and Divine Adili, the UAAP said that Ateneo will remain eligible to compete in the league’s upcoming Season 89.
This, ‘taking into consideration the expressed desire of these student-athletes to honor the memories of their fallen teammates through competition.’
In a statement from the UAAP board on Friday afternoon, the league said that the student-athletes present during the incident will not be held liable, as ‘the Board also recognizes that the Ateneo men’s basketball student-athletes are themselves victims of this tragedy.’
Still, the Board required Ateneo 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 in order to strengthen student-athlete protection, welfare, accountability and institutional oversight.’
The UAAP also slapped former Ateneo head coach Tab Baldwin with a lifetime ban from all UAAP competitions and related activities, ‘in any coaching, administrative, advisory, or official capacity.’
He will also be prohibited from entering any UAAP competition venue, according to the sanction that is final and unappealable.’
Team manager Epok 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 will also be suspended from participation in UAAP competitions.
‘During this period, they shall likewise not be permitted to enter UAAP competition venues in an official capacity. This sanction may be appealed to the UAAP Board in accordance with its applicable rules and procedures,’ the UAAP said.
‘The UAAP’s approach in imposing these sanctions is both protective and restorative. It is intended to ensure accountability, strengthen safeguards for the welfare and best interests of all student-athletes, address the harm caused by this incident, and reinforce the lessons learned to foster a safer and more responsible environment across the league,’ it said.
‘The UAAP again extends its deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of Rene Clert Baterbonia and Chukwuemeka Divine Adili. Their passing is an immeasurable loss to the community.’
In a statement also on Friday, Ateneo de Manila University welcomed the UAAP’s decision to allow the Blue Eagles to participate in the upcoming season.
“We are grateful that our student-athletes will once again have the opportunity to represent the University in the UAAP. For our players, this is more than a return to competition. It is an important step forward in their continuing journey of healing as a team and as young men who continue to grieve the loss of their brothers,” it said.
“Divine and Rene will remain with them every time they put on the Ateneo jersey and take it to the court. The Blue Eagles have always been more than a basketball team. They are brothers, bound by their shared love of the game and by the trust, sacrifice, and care they have for one another. Divine and Rene will always have a place in that brotherhood, and the team will carry their memory with them through the season ahead,” it added.
The university also voiced respect to the UAAP’s sanctions.
“The University remains steadfast in strengthening its policies, systems, and safeguards to better protect the safety and well-being of our student-athletes and support their holistic formation. We will continue to learn from what has happened and undertake the measures necessary to live up to the responsibility and trust placed in us,” Ateneo said.
“Even as our team returns to the court, we do so knowing that the loss of Divine and Rene will always be part of our story. We remember them with gratitude, continue to pray for their families and loved ones, and entrust them to God’s loving embrace,” it added.
“As the Blue Eagles begin a new season, they carry with them not only the hopes of the Ateneo community, but also the enduring bond of a brotherhood strengthened by love, tested by loss and sustained by the memory of those who will always be part of them.”