FORMER PBA player Mac Cardona is facing backlash after posting a video joking about the flooding along Gregorio Araneta Avenue in Quezon City, with sports media personality Ceej Tantengco-Malolos calling the post a new low.
Cardona shared a video Monday showing himself wading through floodwaters while wearing basketball gear, joking that he was undergoing “aqua training” and tagging former Ateneo coach Tab Baldwin.
“Coach Tab dapat dito kayo mag aqua training. Hahaha joke lang coach tab for content only hahahaha,” Cardona wrote in the post.
The video drew criticism because of its timing, coming amid continuing discussions surrounding the deaths of Ateneo student-athletes Rene Clert “Bobet” Baterbonia and Divine Adili, who died during an off-campus team-building activity in Dipaculao, Aurora, on June 8.
A water-related activity reportedly referred to as “aqua training” was part of the incident, which remains under investigation.
In an Instagram post, Tantengco-Malolos strongly criticized Cardona’s decision to make the reference.
“Nobody expects decent behavior from Mac Cardona at this point but making jokes about the Ateneo basketball tragedy is a new low,” she wrote.
She also pushed back against those who may argue that Cardona should simply be ignored because he is already retired.
“Before any of his fans come at me with ‘but he’s already retired, leave him alone’ — he’s not retired,” Tantengco-Malolos said, pointing out that Cardona remains involved in basketball and was promoted to an assistant coaching role in the MPBL.
Her criticism went beyond Cardona’s social media post, questioning why the Philippine sports community continues to provide platforms, opportunities and endorsements to personalities whose actions repeatedly generate controversy.
Tantengco-Malolos also referenced the country’s continuing flood-control problems, arguing that the situation should not be treated simply as material for online content.
“Can we just decide that the hook shot is not enough to justify all this shit?” she said.
Cardona’s post has therefore sparked a wider conversation about accountability in Philippine sports, particularly when athletes, coaches and other sports personalities use their platforms to comment on sensitive issues.
The backlash comes as the circumstances surrounding the Aurora tragedy remain under investigation, making references to the incident especially sensitive within the Ateneo and Philippine basketball communities. (Jesus Nathaniel Valdez)
