ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Collegiate devider Gone too soon: Remembering Ateneo's Adili and Baterbonia

Gone too soon: Remembering Ateneo's Adili and Baterbonia

Published Jun 9, 2026 08:10 am

At A Glance

  • What could have been the rise of two of the country's promising young athletes came to a tragic end as Ateneo players Divine Adili, 21, and Rene Clert Baterbonia, 19, died in a drowning incident during a team-building activity in Dipaculao, Aurora on Monday, June 8.
Rene Clert Baterbonia, right, and Divine Adili (Rene Clert Baterbonia Facebook post / UAAP Media)
Rene Clert Baterbonia, right, and Divine Adili (Rene Clert Baterbonia Facebook post / UAAP Media)
It was heartbreaking, indeed.
What could have been the rise of two of the country’s promising young athletes came to a tragic end as Ateneo players Divine Adili, 21, and Rene Clert Baterbonia, 19, died in a drowning incident during a team-building activity in Dipaculao, Aurora on Monday, June 8.
The Ateneo community -- from teammates and coaches to friends and family -- mourned the loss of two promising talents whose futures in Philippine basketball shone bright.
Adili, a foreign-student athlete in Nigeria, had already made an impact in his rookie season with the Blue Eagles in the UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball. His arrival helped fuel Ateneo’s impressive 4-0 start, with the 6-foot-10 center bringing size, toughness and energy in the paint.
Before joining Ateneo, he built an impressive resume at New Era University, where he won two MVP awards, two Finals MVP honors and back-to-back championships in the NAASCU juniors division. Even while battling a back injury, he showed resilience and competitiveness against some of the UAAP’s top big men.
One of his finest performances came on Nov. 5 when he returned from injury and powered Ateneo to a 78-74 victory over University of the East, delivering 15 points including 10 in the fourth quarter, hammering down 13 rebounds and one block, and dishing off two assists and two steals against fellow standout center Precious Momowei.
His performance drew praise from Ateneo coach Tab Baldwin.
“Regarding Divine having him back, I don't think we can overemphasize how important that is,” Baldwin said.
“And, you know, it's pretty evident that when Divine is out there, it changes the dynamic for the team. And I think, you know, we got more out of him today than we expected, 25 minutes is a big effort coming from where he's come from,” he added.
Although injuries continued to limit his availability for the remainder of the season, Adili remained a key piece of Ateneo’s future plans.
Baterbonia, meanwhile, was regarded as one of the country’s top young prospects. The Talacogon, Agusan del Sur native earned MVP honors in the Palarong Pambansa after leading the Davao Region to the secondary boys’ basketball title in Laoag City last year.
He also helped Team Philippines reclaim the championship in the 14th ASEAN School Games in Brunei and showcased his talent in the NBTC national Finals where he collected multiple individual awards.
His achievements eventually paved the way for a move from Ateneo de Davao to Ateneo de Manila, earning the trust of Baldwin and a chance to continue his development for the Blue Eagles.
For Adili and Baterbonia, their journey was only beginning. Tragically, it ended far too soon.

Related Tags

Divine Adili Rene Clert Baterbonia Ateneo Blue Eagles Tab Baldwin UAAP
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.