Jamaine Punzalan

Article (news)

Paige Javier

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17816643122661781664309441.jpeg" style="width:960px;display:block;height:auto" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Late Ateneo basketball player Divine Adili. UAAP Media/file </span></span></span>MANILA – The late Divine Adili was known by many as a towering presence inside the paint, as started building his basketball career in the Philippines</div><p>Adili first made waves with the New Era University Hunters, leading them to back-to-back titles in the National Athletic Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities (NAASCU) juniors division.</p><p>Along with the championships, the 6-foot-10 cager also won two Most Valuable Player awards in his time with the NEU Hunters.</p><p>Adili also made his presence felt in his rookie year for the Ateneo Blue Eagles in UAAP Season 88, despite a lingering back injury.</p><p>But for his parents Elias and Ifeoma, they want people to remember their son for who he was beyond basketball.  </p><p>&quot;Divine is not just a basketball player, he has a great future. He went to the Philippines for a greater future, for the betterment of his family. As you can hear from the father, that he&#x27;s the breadwinner of this family,&quot; Ifeoma told ABS-CBN News last Saturday.</p><p>&quot;He promised a lot to the younger ones, promised to take care of them. And suddenly, this kind of thing happened,&quot; she added.</p><p>&quot;People will know my son for his expertise in basketball. He lived a life worthy of emulation... He&#x27;s a child of God. Yeah. They should just remember him for who he is. A good boy like him,&quot; Elias said.</p><p>Divine is the eldest of four siblings, whom he cared for dearly. The 6-foot-10 basketball player was described as the hope for their family.  </p><p>&quot;He&#x27;s a young promising basketball star, and he&#x27;s so much in love with the sport. And in every human being, you look for a greener pasture. So the opportunity came for him to go to the Philippines, and he took the decision to go to the Philippines,&quot; Elias said.</p><p>&quot;He&#x27;s a disciplined child, he makes his intentions well known to people, he cooperates, he obeys instructions, and he has respect for every authority, for elders and for colleagues.... what is unfortunate, this has to happen, but he&#x27;s a good boy, very good boy, respectful,&quot; he shared.</p><p>Elias recounted what would be his final conversation with Divine on June 7, the day before the tragic incident.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/basketball/2026/6/17/ateneo-college-athletics-office-says-it-did-not-organize-approve-basketball-team-building-activity-0719">Ateneo college athletics office says it did not organize, approve basketball team-building activity</a></div><p>The 21-year-old shared to his family they were on their way to the team-building activity in Dipaculao, Aurora.</p><p>&quot;On Saturday evening in Nigeria, he called me that he would be going to camp on Sunday. But if I call him I don&#x27;t get much, no worry, but I should not worry that everything is going to be fine, it&#x27;s okay,&quot; Elias said.</p><p>&quot;On Sunday I called him, he said they are about to go in, so I prayed for him, we prayed together with the mom, I wrote him sorry and he left, and that was all we heard about him until Monday evening when the news started flying everywhere,&quot; he added.</p><div><a href="http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/sports/basketball/2026/6/16/kieffer-alas-says-ateneo-team-building-not-an-initiation-rite-1953">Kieffer Alas says Ateneo team-building not an ‘initiation rite’</a></div><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/basketball/2026/6/15/admu-president-says-school-reached-out-to-victims-families-after-drowning-incident-1528">Ateneo president says university reached out Baterbonia, Adili families after drowning incident</a></div><p>With the loss of Divine, the family hopes his legacy and memory lives on through his loved ones, friends and those who supported him.</p><p>&quot;All I can say is that regardless, we are still proud of him. We are still proud of him. We will always celebrate him. We can never forget him. He will be forever in our memory. We are proud of him. We will forever be proud of you, Divine,&quot; Ifeoma said.</p><p>&quot;We can never erase him from our memory. It&#x27;s not possible. As long as I live on this earth, I can never forget Divine. The number of days I have in this world to find him is forever in my memory. It&#x27;s not possible. I will forever be proud of him. And I will always be celebrating,&quot; she added.</p><p>Ateneo said on Tuesday that Divine&#x27;s remains would be transferred to the Arlington Memorial Chapel in Quezon City.</p><p>The wake for Adili starts on Wednesday, and will be open from 12 nn to 8 pm, while a daily mass will be celebrated at 5 pm.</p><p>The Adili family is waiting for the completion of necessary documents before they fly Divine&#x27;s remains back to Nigeria.</p><p>Investigations are ongoing into the deaths of Adili and his teammate Rene Baterbonia in a drowning incident in their team-building activity in Dipaculao, Aurora.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/6/17/ateneo-basketball-players-face-cidg-nbi-probe-on-teammates-drowning-1027">Ateneo basketball players face CIDG, NBI probe on teammates’ drowning</a></div><p>Ateneo head coach Tab Baldwin and team manager Epok Quimpo have<a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/basketball/2026/6/15/ateneo-head-coach-tab-baldwin-resigns-in-wake-of-student-athletes-deaths-1424"> resigned </a>following the tragedy.  </p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/basketball/2026/6/16/ateneo-de-davao-retires-rene-baterbonia-s-no-2-jersey-renames-court-in-his-honor-1408">Ateneo de Davao retires Rene Baterbonia&#x27;s No. 2 jersey, renames court in his honor</a></div><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/6/15/cidg-eyes-possible-hazing-homicide-charges-in-deaths-of-2-ateneo-student-athletes-1706">CIDG eyes possible hazing, homicide charges in deaths of 2 Ateneo student-athletes</a></div><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/basketball/2026/6/16/baldwin-misses-nbi-probe-but-will-fully-cooperate-says-lawyer-1352">‘Not in good condition’: Baldwin misses NBI probe but will ‘fully cooperate,’ says lawyer </a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEOS: </strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rX-YHWykJ8k?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cQCXpAlfTjs?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BK_pSbRYjsw?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></div>

<p>'We're proud of him, we'll always celebrate him:' Divine Adili's parents honor the memory of their son </p>

'We're proud of him, we'll always celebrate him:' Divine Adili's parents honor the memory of their son

'We're proud of him, we'll always celebrate him': Divine Adili's parents honor memory of their son

News

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Sports

Metro.Style

More

Sudoku

Word of the Day

Lotto

Horoscope

Basketball

'We're proud of him, we'll always celebrate him': Divine Adili's parents honor memory of their son

Paige Javier

Published June 17, 2026 10:51 AM PHT

|

Updated June 17, 2026 02:20 PM PHT

Read More:

Basketball

Divine Adili

Ateneo Blue Eagles

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.