Divine Adili was more than just a bruising center for the Ateneo Blue Eagles.
To basketball fans, he was the 6-foot-10 big man patrolling the paint for Ateneo in UAAP Season 88 last year. To teammates, he was a brother. To his professors, he was a diligent student with dreams that stretched far beyond basketball.
For those who knew him best, Divine was a young man driven by purpose, always determined to build a better future for himself and his family.
At Ateneo, his towering frame naturally made him stand out. Yet according to his former professor Skilty Labastilla, Divine never sought attention. He was just a regular student, but whose humility matched his physical stature.
“Adili introduced himself simply as ‘D,’” Labastilla wrote in a Facebook post on June 11, three days after Divine and teammate Rene Baterbonia drowned during a team-building activity in Aurora.
