NBI launches probe into deaths of two Ateneo basketball players

MANILA - Philippine law enforcement launched on Thursday an investigation into the deaths of two student athletes from Ateneo de Manila University basketball team.

READ: Malacañang seeks probe into deaths of two Ateneo basketball players

Ateneo said in a statement two members of its men's basketball team, Rene Clert Baterbonia and Divine Adili, died in a drowning incident during a team-building exercise in a northeastern coastal province on Monday.

The side is coached by Tab Baldwin, who has led Ateneo to four titles in the country's prestigious university basketball league. He built a decorated international career, including guiding New Zealand’s Tall Blacks to a fourth-place finish at the 2002 FIBA World Championship, the best by an Oceania team, and earning Hall of Fame honours in New Zealand.

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 Labor 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.

-Reporting by Nestor Corrales; Editing by Ed Davies/Reuters