Miguelito Calderón

From the late 1960s until the early 1980s Miguelito Calderón represented Cuba in international basketball competitions, before becoming a successful coach. In 1968 Calderón was part of the Cuban team that competed at the Mexico City Olympics, where he played in nine matches and scored 50 points. Despite finishing a disappointing 11th at the Games, the Cuban side went on to win multiple medals at international events during the next decade. Calderón won bronze at both the 1970 Summer Universiade and the 1971 Pan American Games, before winning Olympic bronze at the 1972 Games in München. Two years after the Olympics the Cuban team won gold at the Central American and Caribbean Games in Santo Domingo. In 1980 Calderón represented Cuba for a third time at the Olympics where the team placed sixth at the Moskva Games.

After his retirement as a player Calderón coached the Cuban national team from 1992 to 1999. Under his leadership the team won multiple titles at the Centrobasket tournament, with him also having domestic success with Capitalinos in the Liga Superior de Baloncesto.

Despite his contributions to the sport in Cuba, Calderón spent the final years of his life suffering with serious health issues and was confined to hospital after losing his sight, without any help or support from the government.