by Kevin Estrada

Ateneo De Manila University was allowed to suit up for UAAP Season 89, as the league released its final decision on their administrative review on the matter regarding the drowning incident in Aurora last June 8, 2026 that claimed the lives of prized recruit Rene Baterbonia and foreign student-athlete Divine Adili.

A lifetime ban was imposed on resigned head coach Tab Baldwin.

He might have brought the said Band of Brothers four men’s basketball titles in the southern side of Katipunan Avenue, but the penalty may end his coaching career in the country, where he first made his name as the head tactician of the Gilas squad that came a clean game away from ending the country’s then 44-year Olympic drought.

A number of the team’s staff, including former team manager and ex-UAAP champion Epok Quimpo, were given indefinite suspensions from participation in ” UAAP competitions and related activities, in any coaching, administrative, advisory, or official capacity,” until further determination by the UAAP Board. The staff named in the list are also barred from entering the UAAP venues in an official capacity. These sanctions can be appealed.

The UAAP Board also cleared the players of the Ateneo de Manila Men’s Basketball team, paving the way for them to take part in the upcoming basketball championship that will tip off in September. The board cited the desire of the surviving teammates to honor Baterbonia and Adili through playing.

“The [UAAP] Board [also] recognizes that the Ateneo men’s basketball student-athletes are themselves victims of this tragedy,” the league said in a statement.

Furthermore, the UAAP required the university to undertake a comprehensive reassessment of the organizational structure and management of its team.

Learning from the lessons of the suspension of the entire athletic program of De La Salle University in 2006 due to Academic fraud made by Green Archers’ men’s basketball side, the UAAP Board said that the imposition of said sanctions are “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,” the UAAP Board expressed.