Chris Gavina
Christian Gavina (born January 27, 1979) is a Filipino professional basketball coach. He is an assistant coach for the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).
| Rain or Shine Elasto Painters | |
|---|---|
| Position | Assistant coach |
| League | Philippine Basketball Association |
| Personal information | |
| Born | January 27, 1979[1] |
| Nationality | Filipino |
| Listed height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Career information | |
| College | Stevens Institute of Technology |
| Playing career | 2016–present |
| Career history | |
| As coach: | |
| 2016–2017 | Mahindra Enforcer/Kia Picanto (assistant) |
| 2017–2018 | Kia Picanto |
| 2018 | Valenzuela Classic |
| 2018–2019 | Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (assistant) |
| 2019–present | Bacoor Strikers |
Early life and college career
Gavina was born in the Philippines and migrated to Jersey City, New Jersey when he was three years old.[2] He played college basketball for the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey. He finished second in all-time scoring for the school and have his jersey number retired after his graduation in 2001.[3]
After graduation, he worked as a Formulation Chemist for L'Oreal from 2004 to 2008 and then moved back to the Philippines to pursue a career in basketball. He first played for the Quezon Red Oilers and the Mandaue-Cebu Landmasters of the defunct Liga Pilipinas.
Coaching career
After his contract expired with Mandaue, he returned to the United States and earned a strength and conditioning coach certification at the Institute of Sports and Science. He returned to Manila and got a job for ABL's AirAsia Philippine Patriots' as their strength and conditioning coach in 2011. When the Patriots were disbanded in 2012, he then moved to GlobalPort Batang Pier of the PBA.[2]
In 2016, Gavina was named as the first assistant coach of Manny Pacquiao for the Mahindra Floodbuster, replacing Chito Victolero. Although Pacquiao is named as the head coach of the Floodbuster, Gavina ran the day-to-day practices and acted as the head coach in Pacquiao's absence.[4]
After Pacquiao's contract as player-coach in Mahindra (later renamed as Kia Picanto in 2017) expired after the 2016-17 season, Gavina was named as the head coach of the Picanto.[5]
References
- "CHRISTIAN GAVINA - Eurobasket Player Profile". Eurobasket. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
- Q&A with Manny Pacquiao’s new deputy coach Chris Gavina, Fox Sports Philippines
- From the Lab: Chris Gavina's unconventional way to the PBA, Paul Lintag, ABS-CBN Sports, April 13, 2017
- Chris Gavina named Mahindra coach to replace Victolero as trades remain on hold, spin.ph, April 29, 2016
- Kia signs up little known but ‘hungry’ players as part of ‘unconventional mentality’, Randolph Leongson, Philippine Daily Inquirer, November 4, 2017