Ex-Tall Blacks coach placed on leave after Philippines basketball tragedy

Thursday, 11 June 2026

Ex-Tall Blacks coach Tab Baldwin has been placed on leave following the drowning of two college basketball players he coached in the Philippines.

Chukwuemeka Divine Adili, 21, and Rene Clert Baterbonia, 19, of the Ateneo Blue Eagles died during a team-building exercise on Monday.

Baldwin, an American Kiwi who coached the New Zealand men’s basketball team between 2001 and 2006, has coached the Eagles since 2016.

On Thursday, the Ateneo de Manila University said head coach Baldwin and team manager Christopher ‘Epok’ Quimpo have gone on leave while the university board of trustees conducts an inquiry.

They were on leave “to preserve the total integrity, independence, and fairness of this investigation and to ensure all participants can cooperate freely without any actual or perceived pressure”.

When Stuff approached Baldwin he said he was unable to comment at the time.

Ateneo de Manila University released a statement on Thursday night that said the university “wishes to clarify that Coach Tab Baldwin's silence following the tragedy was not a personal decision made independently of the university.”

The university said it requested that Baldwin refrain from making public statements “to allow the official processes to proceed and the facts to be established before any public discussion of the matter,' University President Fr Roberto C. Yap SJ said.

“His silence should therefore not be misconstrued as indifference or a lack of concern. Rather, it reflects the university's decision to place care, healing, and due process ahead of public discussion.

“In the immediate aftermath of this heartbreaking loss, our guidance to Coach Baldwin was to focus his attention on the emotional and psychological welfare of the players, coaches, and staff affected by the incident, while also attending to his own well-being as someone who is grieving alongside the rest of the community.”

Yap believed it wasn’t appropriate nor helpful to ask Baldwin to engage in public commentary while the community was mourning and while the circumstances surrounding the incident were still being examined.

“The University remains confident that the truth, established through facts rather than speculation, will in due course provide the clarity and understanding that this tragedy demands,” Yap said.

Yap has earlier revealed more details on the double-drowning.

“The team was engaged in a conditioning exercise in knee-deep water near the shoreline when they were suddenly engulfed by massive waves and a powerful rip current.

“While most of the players managed to fight their way back to safety, Rene and Divine were pulled away.”

He said the university would seek “the absolute truth” with its inquiry.

“This inquiry will exhaustively examine the circumstances surrounding the incident, reconstruct a transparent timeline, review all athletic protocols, and interview every individual present.

“No words can heal the void left by this tragedy, and our immediate, absolute priority remains enveloping their grieving families with the material, emotional, and pastoral support they need during this time of unimaginable pain.”

Yap also rejected rumours regarding the drowning.

“We state categorically, to protect the dignity of our fallen players, that no weights of any kind were used during this exercise.”

Lawyer seeks order preventing coach from leaving Philippines

Israelito Torreon, speaking on behalf of the Baterbonia family, said he would write to the Philippines Department of Justice to request an Immigration Lookout Bulletin Order (ILBO), according to the Daily Tribune.

“This is not personal,” Torreon said, adding that “we are not saying that he has any liability here”.

The family wanted “to ensure he does not return home, wherever that may be” while the matter is investigated.

Training programme under scrutiny

The Philippines Department of Justice is also investigating the deaths and the university’s athletic programme.

Baldwin has come under scrutiny for his tough, military-style “bootcamps”, according to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, which cited former team members.

While the local police confirmed there was no indication of foul play, the Philippine Sports Commission said its view was the training was “definitely not standard” and did not comply with the policies of any national sports association, ABS-CBN reported.

In a 2017 interview with Spin.ph, Baldwin said his training style was inspired by American football coach Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant’s “hell” camp training.

“His very famous work is a camp that he had in 1954 for his Texas A&M football team. And the design of the camp was to develop a football team with the emphasis on ‘team’,” Baldwin said.

He told the outlet that Bryant’s camps were designed to break the egos of young athletes.

“The best way to do that is break the man and reduce him to a state where he can’t do things on his own and he requires the assistance of others in order to accomplish something.

“We designed physical and mental tasks at the camp which are essentially designed to do that — break the men.”