Christian Gavina (born January 27, 1979) is a Filipino professional basketball coach. He served as the head coach of the

Taichung Suns The Taichung Suns ( zh, 臺中太陽) are a Taiwanese professional basketball team based in Taichung City, Taiwan. They compete in the T1 League since the 2021–22 season, and play their home game at the National Taiwan University of Sport Gymna ...

in the

T1 League The T1 League is a Taiwanese men's professional basketball league founded in 2021. It is the third professional basketball league in Taiwan after the Chinese Basketball Alliance (CBA) and the P. League+ (PLG). In the 2022–23 season, the T ...

Early life and college career

Gavina was born in the Philippines and migrated to Jersey City, New Jersey when he was three years old. He played college basketball for the

Stevens Institute of Technology Stevens Institute of Technology is a private research university in Hoboken, New Jersey. Founded in 1870, it is one of the oldest technological universities in the United States and was the first college in America solely dedicated to mechanical ...

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. 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 Liga Pilipinas was a regional basketball league in the Philippines. It was sanctioned by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, the country's national basketball federation, and owned by Pinoy Basketbol, Inc. History The National Basketball C ...

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 The AirAsia Philippine Patriots (originally known as the Philippine Patriots) were a professional basketball team that played in the ASEAN Basketball League. It was the first team from the Philippines to play in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) a ...

' as their strength and conditioning coach in 2011. When the Patriots were disbanded in 2012, he then moved to

GlobalPort Batang Pier The NorthPort Batang Pier is a Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) team that first played in the 2012–13 PBA season. The team took over the franchise of the Powerade Tigers in 2012 after it was sold to Sultan 900 Capital, Inc. Besides Nor ...

of the PBA. In 2016, Gavina was named as the first assistant coach of

Manny Pacquiao Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao Sr. (; born December17, 1978) is a Filipino politician and former professional boxer. Nicknamed "PacMan", he is regarded as one of the greatest professional boxers of all time. He served as a Senator of the Phil ...

for the

Mahindra Floodbuster The Terrafirma Dyip is a professional basketball team playing in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). The team is owned by Terrafirma Realty Development Corporation and originally played under its affiliate company Columbian Autocar Cor ...

, replacing

Chito Victolero Ercito Victolero, known as Chito Victolero (born November 29, 1975) in Santa Maria, Bulacan, is a former Filipino professional basketball player and current coach. He is currently the head coach of the Magnolia Hotshots of the Philippine Basketba ...

. 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. 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. On 2018, Gavina returned to PBA after being tapped as an assistant coach of the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters. On October 25, 2022, Gavina signed with the

of the

for head coach.

Coaching record

PBA

T1 League

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gavina, Chris 1979 births Living people College men's basketball players in the United States Filipino chemists Filipino emigrants to the United States Filipino men's basketball coaches Filipino men's basketball players Terrafirma Dyip coaches Stevens Institute of Technology alumni Rain or Shine Elasto Painters coaches Taichung Suns head coaches Filipino expatriate basketball people in Taiwan