Ateneo baller Baterbonia laid to rest in Agusan hometown

The Baterbonia family bids final goodbye to Rene Clert “Bobet” Baterbonia before his casket was placed in an above-ground tomb at the Labnig Public Cemetery in Talacogon, Agusan del Sur on Wednesday, June 24. CHRIS V. PANGANIBAN

TALACOGON, Agusan del Sur — Rene Clert “Bobet” Baterbonia, the rising Ateneo basketball star whose life was cut short after he drowned during a team-building session in Aurora province, was finally laid to rest here Wednesday morning by an estimated crowd of 5,000.

The 18-year-old cager, whose death stirred national grief and calls for accountability, was buried 16 days after the June 8 incident that also killed fellow Ateneo Blue Eagle player Divine Adili, a Nigerian.

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As Baterbonia’s casket was placed in an above-ground tomb at the new cemetery, his mother, Rovelyn, broke down and demanded justice for her son.

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During the burial rites, Baterbonia was posthumously honored by the Department of Education (DepEd) and the provincial government of Agusan del Sur.

The Aurora police initially treated the deaths of Baterbonia and Adili as a drowning incident, but the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) later took a sharper view of the case, saying its initial findings suggested the deaths were “not an accident.” /mr

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