APART from Ateneo, three other college teams took interest in signing the late foreign-student athlete Divine Adili including University of Santo Tomas.
A highly-reliable source told SPIN.ph Tigers that coach Pido Jarencio already had serious talks with New Era University basketball operations head Gabby Velasco about acquiring the 6-foot-10 Nigerian following an impressive stint with the New Era Junior Hunters under former coach Den Velez.
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“Kursunada talaga ni coach Pido yan (Adili). Sila ni coach Gabby (Velasco) ang nag-usap tungkol dun,” recalled the same source.
It was through Velasco that Adili found himself having a basketball career in the country by suiting up for New Era’s junior squad.
Adili capped off his stint with the Junior Hunters by powering them to back-to-back NAASCU championships where he was likewise named league MVP for two straight seasons.
No wonder, Jarencio and the Tigers took a major interest in him.
But the partnership didn’t push through.
UST went after and signed UAAP Best Foreign Student Athlete Collins Akowe of National University, and Adili ended up playing for Ateneo.
“Na-done deal na rin nila (Tigers) yung sa foreign student athlete ng NU kaya hindi na rin natuloy si Adili,” said the source.
It’s been more than a month since Adili drowned during an Ateneo training camp in Dipaculao, Aurora along with rookie teammate Rene Baterbonia.
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