We present the first observation of the phosphorescence of 2-(2'-hydroxyphenyl)benzothiazole in nonpolar solvents. The phosphorescence has a maximum at 648 nm, and the lifetime was measured to be 1.95 +/- 0.2 ms at 77 K in methylcyclohexane glass. The observed decay dynamics of the phosphorescence in combination with studies of the delayed fluorescence and two-step laser-induced fluorescence unambiguously prove that the observed triplet state is ascribed to the cis-keto form of HBT.