The UAAP has cleared Ateneo de Manila University to compete in Season 89 but handed former head coach Tab Baldwin a lifetime ban following the June 8 team-building tragedy in Aurora that killed student-athletes Rene Baterbonia and Divine Adili.
The ruling comes after widespread calls to suspend Ateneo from Season 89 following the incident. It is the UAAP’s most significant disciplinary action since 2020, when former UST coach Aldin Ayo was indefinitely banned for conducting a training bubble in Sorsogon during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The last time the UAAP suspended a member school was in Season 69, when De La Salle University was barred from all league competitions for one season after unknowingly fielding two ineligible basketball players who had submitted falsified Philippine Educational Placement Test certificates.
In a statement issued Friday, the UAAP described its sanctions on Ateneo as “both protective and restorative.”
The league said the penalties were “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 also directed Ateneo to “undertake a comprehensive reassessment” of the organizational structure and management of its men’s basketball program to “strengthen student-athlete protection, welfare, accountability, and institutional oversight.”
The UAAP also cited findings from government investigations, which did not recommend charges against the Ateneo student-athletes who were present during the incident.
It said the league board recognized that the players were also victims of the tragedy and took into account their desire to honor their fallen teammates by competing in Season 89.
Former 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, along with physical therapist John Eric Rueca, were also suspended from all UAAP competitions and activities pending further action by the league’s board.
On July 14, the National Bureau of Investigation recommended filing charges of reckless imprudence resulting in two counts of homicide against Baldwin, Castaño, Soriano, Jacinto, Domingo, Elumba, Dearns and Rueca.
It also recommended separate charges of simple negligence resulting in two counts of homicide against Ateneo athletics director Emmanuel Fernandez, resort owners Francisco and Fredrick Zubia, and resort manager Yedda Rubio.
On June 15, Ateneo President Fr. Roberto “Bobby” Yap, S.J., confirmed the resignations of Baldwin and Quimpo, five days after appointing Louie Alas as interim head coach.
Yap himself is set to step down as university president in 2027.
The tragedy led to widespread public scrutiny of Ateneo’s basketball program and renewed calls for stronger safety measures during team activities.
Before returning to UAAP action, Ateneo is set to make its preseason return in the Pinoyliga Big Dance after suspending offseason activities in the aftermath of the incident.
UAAP Season 89 opens on Sept. 12 with Far Eastern University serving as host. Jay-z V. Perez
