sports
18-Year-Old Ateneo Basketball Player to Be Buried After June 8 Drowning During Team Activity
Bishop Ruben Labajo delivered a homily at the wake of 18-year-old Ateneo basketball player Rene Clert Baterbonia in Talacogon. Baterbonia and teammate Divine Adili drowned during a team-building activity on June 8.
Jun 23, 3:26 AM·1m read1 source
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Rene Clert Baterbonia, an 18-year-old basketball player scheduled to make his collegiate debut in the UAAP in September, will be laid to rest on Wednesday at the new municipal cemetery in Talacogon, Agusan del Sur, Rappler reported. Baterbonia and his Ateneo de Manila University men’s basketball teammate Divine Adili, 21, drowned on June 8 during a team-building activity in Dipaculao, Aurora.
Their deaths are under investigation.
Bishop Ruben Labajo of the Diocese of Prosperidad spoke during a Mass at Baterbonia’s wake in Talacogon on Monday evening, June 22. The wake ends on Tuesday, June 23. “Rene was a rising star, an MVP who played with the passion of a purpose-driven young man,” Labajo said in his homily.
“His life was never just about fame and the points he scored. It was about the lives he touched. ” Baterbonia was a standout from Ateneo de Davao Senior High School and the 2025 Palarong Pambansa Most Valuable Player.
His stated goal was to lift his family from poverty through basketball.
