By Reisha Mae F. Valdez, UC student
Whenever I read stories about young athletes, I find myself looking beyond the scoreboard. What interests me most is not the championship trophy, the winning shot, or the applause that follows a victory. It is the journey behind those moments—the sacrifices, the setbacks, and the families who placed their hopes on a dream that often seems impossible.
Many of the stories I admire begin the same way. A parent works long hours to support a child’s passion. A family learns to stretch every peso to pay for training, equipment, or travel expenses. A young athlete wakes up before sunrise, spends countless hours practicing, and holds on to the belief that hard work can open doors to a better future.
That is why the deaths of Ateneo basketball players Rene Clert Baterbonia and Divine Adili struck me differently. When I read about them, I did not immediately think about basketball. I thought about dreams.
Baterbonia was the son of fish vendors who worked his way into becoming one of the country’s most promising young athletes. Adili left his home in Nigeria and came to the Philippines to pursue opportunities through basketball. Their stories were different, but both reflected the same willingness to sacrifice for a future they believed was possible.
In different ways, both young men carried more than their own ambitions. They carried the hopes of the people who believed in them.
Their stories remind me why sports matter. For many young people, sports are never just about competition. They are opportunities. They are scholarships, careers, and chances to change the course of an entire family’s future.
It is easy to look at athletes and see only the game. We notice the points they score, the trophies they win, and the highlights that appear on our screens. What we often fail to see are the struggles that happen long before the crowd begins to cheer. Behind every athlete is a family hoping for better days. Behind every jersey is a dream that extends far beyond the court.
I think that is what makes this tragedy so painful. We will never know how many lives they would have inspired, how many victories they would have celebrated, or how many people they would have helped along the way. We will never see the stories they were supposed to write for themselves.
Perhaps that is why this tragedy feels personal even to people who have never met them. Two young men who spent years building their futures woke up expecting another ordinary day. Instead, they became a reminder of how fragile even the brightest dreams can be.
The saddest part is not that basketball lost two players. It is that two dreams, carried for years by sacrifice and hope, ended before they ever had the chance to become reality.**
