No pressure for Gavina

Chris Gavina will have zero pressure when he takes over as Rain or Shine head coach in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

Gavina stressed that he sees the job more as a challenge, especially since the Elasto Painters are being considered as a perennial contender heading into the league’s 46th season on 9 April.

“The highest level a coach like me hopes to reach is this: Head coaching,” Gavina told Daily Tribune a day after bagging the position following the appointment of Caloy Garcia as head of basketball operations and active consultant.

“I just feel that it’s a challenge worth accepting because I was put in a position that every coach looks forward to. With this job, you try to improve not only yourself, but your players as well. Actually, the whole team.” But Gavina has all the reasons to be pressured. A franchise that has a rich wining tradition since its days in the Philippine Basketball League, Rain or Shine claimed two titles with Yeng Guiao at the helm.

Guiao then transferred to NLEX and Garcia did a tremendous job making the Elasto Painters competitive from 2016 to 2020.

With that, Garcia was appointed as assistant coach of the Gilas Pilipinas squad that will see action in the third window of the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers.

Gavina said no less that Garcia broke the news. “I thought it was just a prank. The news came straight from coach Caloy,” he said, adding that he is excited to take over a powerhouse squad that is a mixture of veteran players like Beau Belga, Gabe Norwood and James Yap and young players like Rey Nambatac, Javee Mocon and Adrian Wong.

“The greatest joy that comes along my responsibility is to bring people together with one purpose,” said Gavina, who also coached for Valenzuela Classic in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League.

“But it’s not going to start and end with me. It’s a collaborative collection of minds where we can really just establish Rain or Shine as a competitive team.”

Gavina added that they are just waiting for the Rookie Draft before he formally charts the team’s path.

“I think, similar to every team, we’re just waiting to see who will be in the final list of the applicants this draft,” he said.

“Ideally, we’ll try to look for a playmaker.”