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Former Otago Nuggets and Tall Blacks coach Tab Baldwin is at the centre of an investigation into the deaths of two basketball players in the Philippines.
Ateneo de Manila University, the school Baldwin coaches at, said in a statement two members of its men's basketball team died in a drowning incident during a team-building exercise in a northeastern coastal province on Monday.
The players were Rene Clert Baterbonia and Divine Adili.
Philippine law enforcement launched an investigation into the deaths yesterday, in a case that has drawn widespread attention in a country where the sport is hugely popular.
While Baldwin has maintained silence since the incident, and it has been reported the university has barred him from speaking, local media showed him at a candlelight vigil for the two victims.
Baldwin, who coached the Nuggets in their inaugural season in the NBL in 1990, has led Ateneo to four titles in the Philippines' prestigious university basketball league.
He built a decorated international career, including guiding the Tall Blacks to a fourth-place finish at the 2002 FIBA World Cup, alongside coaching the team to the Athens Olympics and 2006 World Cup.
Having also coached the national teams of Lebanon and Jordan, Baldwin began coaching in the Philippines in 2013, and has been at Ateneo de Manila since 2016.
The National Bureau of Investigation, on orders from the justice ministry, created a task force to investigate "all angles" including whether safety protocols were followed, and that there was no foul play as initial police findings showed.
"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," the NBI said.
The distraught mother of Baterbonia questioned in an interview with local television what had taken place after learning of her son's death.
"I don't know why that happened," she said.
Baldwin has not issued any public statement since the incident and could not immediately be reached for comment.
The Labour Department said it would subpoena Baldwin to check he holds a valid employment permit.
Ateneo could not immediately be reached for comment but the university said in a statement on Thursday it was conducting its own investigation and that Baldwin and the basketball team's manager had taken leave while it looked into the incident.
The case has also caught the attention of lawmakers who said they will launch a congressional inquiry.
- Additional reporting by Allied Media