Assistant coach Chris Gavina is leaving the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in the Philippine Basketball Association to sign up with last season’s finalist, the Taichung Wagor Suns, in the Taiwan’s T1 League.
Gavina becomes the third head coach of the Wagor Suns, following brief stints by Alberto Garcia and Spanish national youth cage mentor Lurgi Caminos.
It will now be the 43-year-old Gavina’s responsibility to help bring the Suns back into the finals.
Last season, the Suns bowed to the Kaohsiung Aquas in their best-of-seven finals’ series.
Gavina was the head coach of the Elasto Painters last year, before Yeng Guiao came aboard this season in the PBA.
He will have Gilas Pilipinas national men’s cager, the returning Jordan Heading as one of his players and another Filipino import KG Canaleta, a free agent signing.
Tony Bishop, who was the Meralco Bolts’ import last season in the PBA, is also in the Suns’ roster.
Heading played last season in the T1 with an average of 19.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.2 steals per game.
The 6’2” Heading is returning after his stint with Japan B.League club Nagasaki during the off-season.
Recently, ex-University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons’ standout Ricci Rivero suited up for the Taoyuan Pilots, to become the first-eve Southeast Asian player in the professional P. LEAGUE+.
According to reports, the T1 League now has around eight Southeast Asian players, mostly from the Philippines and Thailand.