Tab Baldwin on Baterbonia, Adili deaths: I failed as a leader, a coach, a friend

Ateneo de Manila University men’s basketball head coach Tab Baldwin recalled the moments leading up to the deaths of student-athletes Rene Baterbonia and Divine Adili, acknowledging that he “failed as a leader” of the team.

READ MORE | Ateneo recruit Rene Baterbonia, foreign student athlete Divine Adili die in drowning incident

In a video posted by Ateneo on Friday, Baldwin apologized to both families and to those who “felt betrayed” with what happened.

“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. We did everything that we could,” Baldwin said.

“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.”

“And 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,” Baldwin added.

It was at that moment, Baldwin said, that he felt he was a failure.

“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,” he added.

As he emphasized his apology, Baldwin also said he hopes everyone will find peace and forgiveness after what happened.

“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.”

This is the first time that Baldwin spoke up about the tragic incident, as Ateneo on Thursday said it has advised the Blue Eagles coach to refrain from speaking publicly about the issue.

—Justin Kenneth Carandang/JMB, GMA News