MIDNIGHT finally struck for Chris Gavina in University of the East.
SPIN.ph sources confirmed that the Fil-Am coach has resigned from his post, ending a winless run that lasted merely 16 games and barely two seasons.
Paulo Hubalde, an alumnus and part of Gavina's staff, has been appointed to take over for the remainder of the UAAP Season 89 men's basketball tournament starting Saturday's game against Far Eastern University.
It was far from the easiest of tenures for Gavina, who inherited a hard-luck Red Warriors squad that even stumbled to a horrifying 22-game losing skid under his watch.
Taking over a hurting red-and-white crew from Jack Santiago in 2025, Gavina was already in a tough situation further aggravated by continuous player departures from Recto, most notably main cogs Precious Momowei, Wello Lingolingo, Nico Mulingtapang, and Dylan Despi just this offseason.
Pressure was already high for Gavina, especially after his 0-14 run in his first year in Season 88, when he was also handed a four-game suspension for issuing comments detrimental to the league.
READ: Gavina confronts UE shortcomings as losing streak hits 22 games
Though he was given some sort of reprieve, with UE management allowing him to continue for a second season, he and his wards went on to lose their first two games in the ongoing tournament by an average of 23.5 points.
Not just Gavina
Even Gavina's assistant coaches Alex Cabagnot and Nick Demusis weren't spared from the ire of management, which felt their active playing careers have affected their performance in terms of developing the skills of the players.
As such, both have also filed their resignation as assistant coaches.
Gavina had a dedicated staff on hand led by RJ Argamino supporting him in the team practices, but that was nonetheless the underlying reason why Red Warriors legend Allan Caidic was brought in to be an active consultant.
There was also a clear disconnect in the direction of UE's preparations for Season 89.
Gavina wanted to expose his boys to an overseas training camp in the U.S., a request which was denied.
On the other hand, there was negative sentiment on the part of the management regarding the Red Warriors' non-participation in high-stakes preseason tournaments, as they only fielded a squad in the Cebu City Invitational Tournament, while skipping the likes of the Filoil Preseason.
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