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🇸🇬 Singapore /Sports

Philippines Probes Deaths of Two Top Basketball Team Athletes

From The Straits Times · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Under investigation
  • Philippine authorities are investigating the drowning deaths of two student athletes from Ateneo de Manila University.
  • The athletes, Rene Clert Baterbonia and Divine Adili, died during a team-building exercise.
  • The National Bureau of Investigation is examining whether safety protocols were followed and if foul play was involved.

Philippine law enforcement has launched a formal investigation into the tragic drowning deaths of two student athletes from a prominent university basketball team. Rene Clert Baterbonia and Divine Adili, members of the Ateneo de Manila University men's basketball team, died during a team-building exercise in a northeastern coastal province on Monday.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), acting on orders from the justice ministry, has established a dedicated task force. This team will explore "all angles" of the incident, focusing on whether proper safety protocols were adhered to during the team-building activity. Initial police findings suggested no foul play, but the NBI aims to conduct a thorough review.

An event may be 'accidental' in the sense that no one wished it and yet remains the product of a failure to exercise the care the law demands.

— NBIThe National Bureau of Investigation's statement on the scope of their investigation.

The university stated it is conducting its own investigation, and coach Tab Baldwin, who has a decorated international career, along with the team's manager, have taken leave during this period. The case has also drawn the attention of lawmakers, who plan to initiate a congressional inquiry. The mother of one of the deceased athletes expressed her confusion and distress in a television interview, questioning the circumstances surrounding her son's death.

I don't know why that happened.

— Baterbonia's motherThe mother of Rene Clert Baterbonia questioning the circumstances of her son's death.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by The Straits Times in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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