Robin Padilla says Baterbonia biopic pushing through

The story of promising young basketball player Rene Clert “Bobet” Baterbonia is moving closer to the big screen, with Senator Robin Padilla saying the planned film about the late athlete remains on track despite challenges surrounding the project.

Padilla revealed that filmmaker BB Gandanghari and a team of filmmakers from Mindanao are preparing to move forward with the production. The senator said they remain determined to tell Baterbonia’s story despite what he described as financial pressure and the politicization of the entertainment industry. He did not identify the people he was referring to or provide details supporting the allegations.

For Padilla, the difficulties will not stop the project from being made.

“Hindi po tayo bumibitaw sa paglalahad sa pamamagitan ng pelikula ang buhay ni Rene Baterbonia,” he wrote on Facebook, stressing their commitment to bringing the young athlete’s journey to the screen.

The film will center on Baterbonia, an 18-year-old basketball prospect from Talacogon, Agusan del Sur, whose rise in the sport had already taken him from Mindanao to the national stage.

Before joining Ateneo de Manila University, Baterbonia made his mark at the 2025 Palarong Pambansa. Playing for the Davao Region, he helped his team capture the boys’ basketball gold medal and was named Most Valuable Player. He was also part of the Philippine delegation that won basketball gold at the 2025 ASEAN School Games in Brunei.

His next chapter was supposed to unfold with the Ateneo Blue Eagles in UAAP Season 89.

That dream ended tragically on June 8, when Baterbonia and fellow Ateneo player Divine Adili, 21, died during a team-building activity in Dipaculao, Aurora. Authorities later said a post-mortem examination found Baterbonia’s cause of death to be asphyxia by drowning.

Plans to dramatize his life had already surfaced months earlier. In July, Gandanghari announced a casting search for performers who could portray Baterbonia and his parents, Rovelyn and Rene. Gandanghari had also visited the athlete’s family and extended assistance following his death.

The project has been reported under the title Just a Kid With a Big Dream: The Rene “Bobet” Baterbonia Story, reflecting the journey of a provincial athlete whose basketball ambitions carried him from Agusan del Sur to some of the biggest stages in Philippine youth basketball.

With Gandanghari and the Mindanao filmmaking team preparing for the production, Padilla’s latest statement makes clear that the filmmakers intend to continue with the project and preserve Baterbonia’s story on film.