Rene Baterbonia laid to rest in Talacogon amid anguish, cries for justice

AGUSAN DEL SUR, Philippines – Rene Clert Baterbonia arrived in Manila on June 4 to pursue his dream of playing for Ateneo de Manila University in the UAAP.

Just 20 days later, on Wednesday, June 24, the young basketball star was buried in his hometown of Talacogon, Agusan del Sur.

Only 18 years old, Baterbonia drowned along with 21-year-old Nigerian teammate Divine Adili during the Ateneo Blue Eagles’ team-building activity in Aurora on June 8. 

Talacogon lost its local hero.

Under the scorching heat, mourners gathered at the new municipal cemetery to bid farewell to Baterbonia, fondly known as Bobet. To his grief-stricken fans, he is also Mr. MVP, their icon on and off the court.

Baterbonia’s No. 1 fan is undoubtedly his mother Rovelyn, and her grief was the most palpable. Clutching what would have been Bobet’s official jersey in the UAAP, No. 35, she demanded justice for her son.

“All members with this jersey, make sure they don’t sleep peacefully if they don’t tell the truth. From the coach, staff, all members, don’t ever let them sleep peacefully,” Rovelyn cried out as she stood in front of her son’s casket.

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Baterbonia had seen basketball as a way to lift his parents and six siblings out of poverty, so he persevered in the sport.

He was among the youngsters considered as the “future of Philippine basketball,” in the words of PBA star Scottie Thompson, who had visited Baterbonia’s wake.

The 2025 Palarong Pambansa MVP could’ve been great in the UAAP, the PBA, or even with Gilas Pilipinas on the global stage — now just painful what-ifs.

Weeping uncontrollably, Rovelyn lamented what could have been. “They wasted your potential. They really just wasted your potential!”

It wasn’t just that Baterbonia excelled in basketball. He was a promising teenager who was genuinely kind and humble, as recounted by those close to him following his tragic passing. “Just a kid with a big dream,” Baterbonia himself once said.

His was a story that resonated not just with Filipinos from across the country, but even those based abroad, as evidenced by the flowers from senders in the United States, Canada, and Saudi Arabia, among many others.

All of them feel that they too — like Talacogon — had lost a son. – Rappler.com