In a press briefing held Tuesday afternoon, Philippine National Police Aurora announced that the deaths of Ateneo men’s basketball team members Divine Adili and Rene Baterbonia are ‘purely accident,’

“Natural accident po yung pangyayari, hindi po talaga inaasahan at ngayon, wala po tayong nakikitang foul play sa aksidente na ito,” Acting Provincial Director of the Aurora Police Provincial Office PCOL. Percival Pineda said. 

Authorities explained that around 2:40 p.m. on Monday, the Blue Eagles started their team activity in front of a beach resort in Brgy. Libis, Dipaculao, Aurora. 

“Based on the accounts of the witnesses we spoke to, they have an activity where our players walk in the sea, in the shallow sea, until you can see the depth of the water,” Pineda shared. 

“Suddenly they went further and the current carried them to a farther part of the sea,” he added. 

He also shared that this is not the first time that the Blue Eagles underwent this type of team activity as it was done years ago, also in the same resort. 

Baterbonia, 19, was an incoming rookie for the Blue Eagles, and a former Palarong Pambansa MVP from DAVRAA. 

21-year-old Adili, on the other hand, is an incoming sophomore from Nigeria who plays as a center for the Katipunan-based team.