Divine Adili's father shares last call with son before Ateneo athlete's death
Elias Adili, father of student-athlete Divine Adili, shared that he last spoke with his son while the Ateneo men's basketball team was on their way to Dipaculao, Aurora for their team-building activity.
In an interview with GMA News Online, Elias recalled speaking with Divine over the weekend before the drowning incident that claimed the lives of his son, 21, and Rene Baterbonia, 19.
"He called me on Saturday to say he was going to camp. On Sunday, he told me he was on the way. Then on Monday, I got the news," he told the outlet.
Remembering his son, the eldest of his four children, Elias said he was proud of how well-mannered Divine was, not only toward others but also toward his siblings.
"[He's] very gentle. He plays basketball very well. He’s well-mannered, well-cultured. He respects people and he takes care of his siblings. He’s a very good boy," he said.
He went on to share that Divine's mother has been deeply devastated since they knew about their son's death last Monday.
"His demise is a very big blow to the family. The mother, as I’m telling you now, the mother is seriously in pain, seriously in pain," Elias lamented. "She has been crying since that Monday till today. Until this now I’m speaking with you, she is crying."
"For me on Monday to get this news… This is very sad news. very painful news of his demise. Now that he’s gone, I don’t know where I will start again," he added.
Elias expressed his frustration over the tragedy, saying precautionary measures should have been in place before the water-based activity was conducted.
"I was so disheartened and disappointed about the whole incident because there were measures that were supposed to be in place before you take people to water, and those things were neglected," he said.
"I believe they are supposed to read the weather before they can move to the sea. So, those things are the things troubling my heart, and the feeling of my family [is] we are highly devastated," he continued.
In a Facebook post, Elias called for justice for his son.
"I want justice for my son Chukwuemeka Divine Adili who along others stood in for Nigeria in all Nation Tournament in Philippines in 2024, Nigeria won he was ranked 6th best, he gave his all to ATENEO BLUES 3rd ranked University in Philippines, Divine your family is highly pained and devastated by your demise out of carelessness, you evaporated like a steam out of our sight," he wrote.
"Divine, we miss you and our tears seem endless," he lamented.
Team-building tragedy
While participating in a team-building activity with the rest of their teammates at a resort in Dipaculao, Divine and Rene were carried away by a rip current. They were found 30-40 minutes later. A physician at an Aurora hospital declared them dead on arrival.
Initial findings by the Aurora police have suggested the incident was purely accidental, and ruled out foul play.
Although a subpoena was issued against the team's American-New Zealander head coach Tab Baldwin by the Department of Labor and Employment over his employment permit as a foreigner, the coach has kept silent since June 8. His first public appearance since the incident was at a community vigil for Adili and Baterbonia on June 11 inside the university campus.
In a statement released on June 11, AdMU President Fr. Roberto C. Yap SJ clarified Baldwin's silence was not by choice. The university requested the coach to refrain from making public statements "to allow the official processes to proceed and the facts to be established before any public discussion of the matter," Yap wrote.
Instead of speaking to the press, the university advised Baldwin to look after the welfare of the players, coaches, and staff, as well as his own.
"At a time when our priority was caring for those most directly affected, we believed it was neither appropriate nor helpful to ask Coach Baldwin to engage in public commentary while the community was mourning and while the circumstances surrounding the incident were still being examined," the statement continued.
Yap urged the public not to mistake Baldwin's silence for indifference.
"Rather, it reflects the University's decision to place care healing, and due process ahead of public discussion," Yap wrote.
Multiple agencies have launched parallel investigations into the incident, including the Dipaculao local government, Philippine National Police, National Bureau of Investigation, the Commission on Higher Education, and the Philippine Sports Commission.
Baterbonia’s remains were flown to Davao early Friday, June 12, for a three-day wake before being brought home to Agusan del Sur. The Embassy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the Philippines is also facilitating the repatriation of Adili’s remains to Nigeria. The families of both victims have requested that autopsies be conducted.
