THE losses keep piling up, and so do the questions for Chris Gavina.
University of the East opened UAAP Season 89 with back-to-back double-digit defeats, falling by 27 points to Ateneo before absorbing a 20-point loss to NU on Sunday. That extended the Red Warriors’ losing streak to 22 games dating back to a rare victory against the Bulldogs in Round 2 of Season 87.
READ COLUMN: Gavina faces ultimatum after ominous start to UE season
For Gavina, the latest setback exposed a familiar problem: UE has yet to sustain its best basketball for an entire game.
“I think the key word is just inconsistency. [Against NU], we came out flat and we gave up a 25 to 8 lead. But then when we looked at rhe second, third, and fourth, it would have been a 3-point game if you take out that 17-point deficit in the first," Gavina said.
"We showed spurts of what we're capable of, and then we showed the ugly side of what we're incapable of if we don't stick to our rules, our principles."
The problem, however, is that against the UAAP’s top teams, those lapses are magnified.
UE fell behind NU by 17 points after the opening quarter and never fully recovered, leaving the Red Warriors at 0-2 while extending a skid that has now stretched across two years.
“Like every team in the UAAP, everyone is so aggressive. We come out soft the way we did today, these moments are going to keep happening, so those are things that we're going to watch on film and definitely address right away. I think the level of toughness needs to be resolved on our end," Gavina explained.
That gap is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.
Ateneo and NU have combined to beat UE by 47 points through the first two games of the season, while the Red Warriors have struggled to match the physicality and consistency required to stay within striking distance.
Gavina pointed to the development of his younger players as one area that could help close that gap.
“I think just having guys understand what's needed from them. Today, we took a gamble on our young guys with Dexter Santos and Kean Dungca, and they were able to show us that we can rely on them even at this stage of their early UAAP careers," he said.
But the Red Warriors still need more from their veterans, particularly in the backcourt and frontline.
“Our guard production needs to be more consistent between our point guards and our returning bigs. They need to be able to at least give us toughness; that's what's expected of them.”
Ticking time bomb
The urgency is only growing for Gavina. With UE still searching for its first win in Season 89, the pressure on him to produce tangible results is mounting.
For now, Gavina knows exactly what needs to change, as UE cannot afford to keep showing only flashes of the team it believes it can become, especially with a ticking time bomb hanging over his tenure in Recto.
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