Newly-appointed (UE) head coach Chris Gavina immediately buckled down to work when he formally signed his contract to mentor the Red Warriors in Season 88 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s basketball tournament.

To get the ball rolling, Gavina met with some members of the team that narrowly missed the Final Four of Season 87.

“I asked them: What were the biggest lessons you guys learned from, your great first half of the season and then, your setbacks in the second half? They just told me that there was a level of complacency when they tasted success,” Gavina said in a telephone conversation.

“I told them: Don’t knock yourselves too hard because there’s talent here, obviously, to get to the position where you were. You may not have made the goal that you wanted, but what’s delayed is not a completely unreachable task and I could see the hunger in your eyes.”

Gavina, who once called the shots for Taiwan Mustangs in The Asian Tournament, swears the Red Warriors are determined to come back roaring.

“I like that fire that I saw some of you guys and had to kind of redeem themselves this year. I told them that whoever decides to stick around, that’s what I can promise you. I’m going to match your passion with my work ethic. So that was a great first meeting, in my opinion.”

With the Red Warriors finishing the first round of Season 87 with a 5-2 record, they looked primed to end a 15-year absence in the semifinals.

But after a nightmarish second round where they only won one of the last seven games and a one-game suspension on big man Precious Momowei, UE’s Final Four aspirations crumbled.

Gavina’s experience coaching in the Philippine Basketball Association and in Taiwan will be a huge asset for the Red Warriors.

The 46-year-old tactician also called the shots for Fil-Nation select as they won last year’s National Basketball Training Center National Finals.

Still, despite last year’s heartbreak, Gavina remains optimistic as he wants his players to build on their Season 87 campaign and learn from their mistakes.

Last year’s coach was Jack Santiago he also draws inspiration from legendary coach Baby Dalupan as he aims to have the current crop of Red Warriors, led by veterans John Abate, Wello Lingolingo, and Momowei, be mentioned in the same breath with school legends such as James Yap, Paul Lee and Sonny Jaworski.

“Basically this is a program with a passionate fan base and a deep tradition of basketball excellence. With my recent experience internationally, I felt it was an opportune time for me to put my name in the hat of a college program,” Gavina said.

“I see the hunger of the entire university, the community, as well as the players in wanting to continue, the legacy of excellence that the school has been known for. I mean, they have 18 championships.”

Entering the UAAP for the first time, Gavina couldn’t wait to test his coaching acumen against the likes of Tab Baldwin of Ateneo de Manila University, Topex Robinson of De La Salle University, and Goldwin Monteverde of defending champion University of the Philippines.

“I mean, it’s very similar to the atmosphere I felt when I was going to Taiwan where I knew I was going to go up against international coaches from different regions with different styles of philosophies and systems. So this is just another stepping stone on my coaching career in regards to having to adapt to those great coaches you just mentioned,” Gavina said.