Tab Baldwin, Epok Quimpo on leave as Ateneo probes players’ deaths

FILE – Ateneo Blue Eagles’ coach Tab Baldwin during a game in the UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball tournament. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines–Ateneo said on Thursday that coach Tab Baldwin and team manager Epok Quimpo “have gone on leave” as the school begins a fact-finding inquiry into the tragic incident that led to the deaths of promising player Rene Baterbonia and Nigerian center Divine Adili.

In a statement signed by school president Roberto Yap, Ateneo said the move was made “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.”

The school said Baldwin and Quimpo will remain on leave for the duration of the inquiry, which seeks to establish the “absolute truth.”

It was only the third statement the school has issued after Baterbonia and Adili died on Monday during a team activity in Dipaculao, Aurora.

PHOTO: Rene Baterbonia’s Facebook and UAAP

Baldwin, meanwhile, has yet to speak on the matter and was not with the team when it visited Baterbonia’s wake at Arlington Memorial Chapels on Wednesday.

“A loss of this magnitude demands absolute accountability, clarity, and an unyielding review of the safety and welfare of our community. To ensure this process is conducted with the highest standards of fairness, independence, and objectivity, the University’s Board of Trustees has mandated a thorough fact-finding inquiry,” Ateneo said.

“This inquiry will exhaustively examine the circumstances surrounding the incident, reconstruct a transparent timeline, review all athletic protocols, and interview every individual present. Upon its completion, the independent findings will be submitted directly to the Board of Trustees for swift and appropriate structural action, guided always by the requirements of law, due process, and our sacred responsibility to the families.”

‘No weights used’

The latest statement also opened with the school’s initial account of the incident, addressing earlier speculation that weights were found on the bodies of Baterbonia and Adili.

“Based on what we have gathered from those present, on Monday, 8 June 2026, 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. We state categorically, to protect the dignity of our fallen players, that no weights of any kind were used during this exercise.”