Ateneo de Manila University announced Monday that it had accepted the resignation of Thomas Anthony “Tab” Baldwin, removing the veteran mentor from the men’s basketball program he had directed since 2016. Team manager Christopher “Epok” Quimpo also vacated his role, with both departures taking hold immediately.
University president Fr. Roberto Yap, SJ delivered the news at a press conference on the school’s Quezon City campus — the first time Ateneo officials had faced reporters since the drowning deaths of student-athletes Rene Baterbonia and Divine Adili a week earlier. “I also must inform everyone that the university has accepted the resignation of Thomas Anthony ‘Tab’ Baldwin, effective immediately,” Yap said.
Baterbonia, an 18-year-old incoming rookie, and Adili, a 21-year-old big man from Nigeria, died on June 8 during a team-building activity at a resort in Dipaculao, Aurora. Police accounts cited by Rappler indicated the group was doing a conditioning drill in shallow water near the shoreline when strong currents pulled the two players into deeper water; other members of the team made it back to land.
Explaining the decision to part with Baldwin, Yap framed it as a step the institution felt it had no choice but to take. “We thank him for the years of service to the Blue Eagles. But as we enter a period of deep institutional review, change in leadership is necessary to ensure the full integrity of our sports programs and safety protocols,” he said. The school had earlier placed both men on leave so that, in the university’s words, witnesses could speak to investigators without pressure.
The resignations landed on the same day Baldwin skipped summonses from two government bodies. Philstar reported that his lawyer stood in for him at separate proceedings called by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and the Department of Labor and Employment, the latter examining his work permit as a foreign national.
Several agencies are running parallel inquiries. Rappler reported that the National Bureau of Investigation, the Philippine National Police, and the Commission on Higher Education are each conducting their own reviews, alongside a fact-finding panel ordered by Ateneo’s board of trustees.
During his decade with the Blue Eagles, Baldwin assembled one of the more decorated runs in recent UAAP history, capturing three straight titles from Season 80 to Season 82, including an unbeaten 16-0 campaign, and adding a fourth crown in Season 85. He had signed a three-year contract extension in September 2025 that would have kept him on the bench through 2028.
