Tab Baldwin Opens Up on Darkest Moment of His Coaching Career
TAB BALDWIN – Grief and regret took center stage as Tab Baldwin addressed the Ateneo community and the families of the two athletes who lost their lives during a team activity in Aurora.
Ateneo de Manila University basketball coach Tab Baldwin has publicly expressed deep remorse following the tragic deaths of Blue Eagles players Rene Baterbonia and Divine Adili, who drowned after being swept away by strong currents off the coast of Dipaculao, Aurora.
In a video statement released on Ateneo’s official Facebook page on Friday evening, Baldwin addressed the university community, the players’ families, and the public. He accepted responsibility for the circumstances surrounding the incident and apologized for what he described as a failure to uphold the trust given to him by the families of the two athletes.
“As a coach, we are entrusted with the growth of our basketball players, the development of these young men into future professionals, but mostly, as a coach, I’m entrusted by you, the parents and the families, with first and foremost, their well-being. And in this, I feel I’ve failed. And I’m sorry. To the depth of my being, I’m sorry,” Baldwin said.
The veteran coach also shared his account of the events leading up to the tragedy. According to him, the players had been participating in what was believed to be a routine training run in shallow waters. However, the situation quickly turned dangerous when they were carried into deeper waters by strong ocean currents.
“On that fateful day when we sent the players out for a routine training run in what we thought was shallow water, up to the moment when we realized that whatever had happened, they were in dangerous water, and we did everything that we could as coaches, as people responsible for that situation, the players themselves did everything they could to ensure that everybody arrived back on shore safely. And then we realized that we hadn’t accomplished that,” he narrated.
Baldwin described the emotional burden he felt after realizing that not everyone had made it back safely. Reflecting on the loss, he admitted feeling that he had failed in several roles.
“In that moment, I experienced the descent into the darkest place imaginable, and yet I knew at the same time that good people, people that had done an amazing job raising these two young men, were going to be in an even darker, more horrible place. At that moment, I felt I had failed. I failed as a leader. I felt I had failed as a coach. I certainly felt like I had failed as a friend to Divine and Rene, and when later I faced the team to try to be a leader in that moment, I felt that I failed them too.”
The coach also appealed for continued prayers for Baterbonia and Adili, expressing hope that faith and unity would help the community heal from the heartbreaking incident. Acknowledging the criticism he received for organizing the team-building activity, Baldwin said he hopes everyone can find a path toward reconciliation and healing.
“I think that my voice in prayer is hoarse now, but it will never be enough, so as we all try to move forward without Divine and Rene, I hope that in binding together as a community, as a basketball team, and as a nation, that we lean on the one place that will never let us down, and that is our Lord. So I’m so deeply sorry to not just the families, but everybody that feels let down, somehow betrayed, and I pray that we all find some pathway forward to come back to hope for the future, love for one another, and forgiveness for those of us who failed and tried so desperately hard to reach a better outcome. I wish peace for everybody. I wish comfort for everybody who is hurting, and I pray that we will all find that,” Baldwin further said.
Baldwin was seen publicly on Thursday night during a candlelight vigil held at the Ateneo campus in Quezon City to honor the memories of the two fallen players. Meanwhile, Baterbonia’s remains have been brought to Davao City, where a wake is being held at Ateneo de Davao University before he is laid to rest in his hometown of Talacogon, Agusan del Sur, next week.
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