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' as their strength and conditioning coach in 2011. When the Patriots were disbanded in 2012, he then moved to
GlobalPort Batang Pier of the
PBA. In 2016, Gavina was named as the first assistant coach of
Manny Pacquiao for the
Mahindra Floodbuster, replacing
Chito Victolero. 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
Taichung Suns of the
T1 League for head coach. On June 29, 2023, Gavina left the
Taichung Suns. Gavina was named as the head coach of the
UE Red Warriors on February 13, 2025. On his
first UAAP season, Gavina, after a loss against the
De La Salle Green Archers, launched an expletive-riddled rant at the post-game press conference. The UAAP then suspended Gavina for four games. UE finished the season winless after 14 games. == Coaching record ==