MANILA, Philippines—Was Sam Ekwe questioned by police for alleged game-fixing?

San Beda College head coach Frankie Lim Wednesday denied that the Lions’ star center was invited for questioning by a PNP investigative unit allegedly for his sub-par performance in one of the team’s recent matches.

A source, however, claimed that agents, reportedly from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), picked Ekwe up near the San Beda campus late Sunday afternoon for questioning.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer source, a basketball personality who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said Ekwe was released later that evening after questioning.

A police source later confirmed some of the details given by the basketball source.

Lim dismissed the incident as a mere rumor meant to unsettle the defending champion Lions heading into the Final Four of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

“I don’t know who spread that rumor,” Lim, whose team is seeded first in the Final Four, told the Inquirer Wednesday. “There were text messages about that. As far as I understand, it’s meant to destabilize our team before the Final Four.”

Ekwe refused to answer the questions about the incident which allegedly happened after the Lions’ team-building activity in Tagaytay City last Sunday.

“Please let me focus first on the remaining games, then you can conduct an interview,” Ekwe later said in a text message to the Inquirer.

Contacted for verification, the Inquirer’s police source confirmed that a police investigative unit did pick Ekwe up for “informal” questioning at its Camp Crame headquarters Sunday.

The source said the interview lasted briefly and Ekwe was immediately released without being made to sign a written statement.

“He was not investigated formally,” the source said. “He was just interviewed and later allowed to go home.”

Again citing the sensitivity of the issue, the official spoke on the condition of anonymity and revealed that the officers of the investigative unit kept Ekwe’s questioning under wraps to avoid possible diplomatic repercussions.

“We’re afraid that the Nigerian embassy might think that Ekwe is being singled out here but that’s not the case,” one investigator was quoted as saying.

The 6-foot-8 Ekwe, one of the leading candidates for the MVP award, scored four points, his lowest output this season, in the Lions 65-63 overtime win over Letran College Wednesday.

Lim fielded Ekwe, who averages 15 points and 13 rebounds a game, for only 19 minutes and the coach later said the Nigerian’s performance was below par.

The Inquirer tried but failed to contact San Beda rector Fr. Mateo De Jesus for comment, but the priest wrote a letter to Ekwe reaffirming the school’s trust in him.

“We affirm our agreement to the manifestation of the Nigerian Embassy, through Consul Patricia Alechenu, that you are to be held in high esteem and [are] a man of integrity,” read the letter, which was posted at inboundspass.com, a basketball website managed by a San Beda product.