Rafael "Paing" Hechanova Sr. (July 8, 1928 – August 26, 2021) was a Filipino

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player who competed in the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. After Japan declared in ...

Early life

Rafael "Paing" Hechanova was born on July 8, 1928, in the then-city of Jaro in

Iloilo Iloilo ( ; ), officially the Province of Iloilo (; ; ; ), is a province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital and largest city is Iloilo City, the regional center of Western Visayas and politically independen ...

province.

Career

Playing career

Shortly after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Hechanova played varsity basketball for the

University of Santo Tomas The University of Santo Tomas (UST; ), officially the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, The Catholic University of the Philippines or colloquially as ''Ustê'' (), is a Private university, private Catholic school, Catholic researc ...

's (UST) Glowing Goldies under coach Herminio Silva in the

UAAP The University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), established in 1938, is an athletic association of eight Metro Manila universities in the Philippines. The eight-member schools are Adamson University (AdU), Ateneo de Manila Univer ...

. He was recognized as Mr. Basketball in 1951 by the

Philippine Sportswriters Association The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

for helping UST win titles in the UAAP, National Inter-Collegiate, and National Senior. He also played for UST's volleyball and golf teams. Hechanova suited up for the Philippines men's national team helping the team win the gold medal in the

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...

and 1954 editions. He was also part of the Philippine roster which competed in the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XVI Olympiad and officially branded as Melbourne 1956, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December ...

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

. He was considered for inclusion in the country's roster for the

1954 FIBA World Championship The 1954 FIBA Basketball World Cup, FIBA World Championship (also called the 2nd World Basketball Championship – 1954) was the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. It was held by the International Basketball ...

, but Hechanova already decided to retire and pursue a career in architecture having just passed the board exam at that time. He also played for the

YCO Painters The YCO Painters were the multi-titled Filipino basketball team of the YCO Athletic Club that was active from the late 1940s to 1981 in the now-defunct Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association (MICAA). YCO Athletic Club was founded ...

in the

Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association The Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association (MICAA) was a sports association which existed in Manila, Philippines from 1938 to 1981. Throughout its existence, it staged various sports and was participated by prominent Philippine c ...

(MICAA).

Post-retirement

Hechanova became involved again the MICAA as an official when the Concepcion Industries joined the league. He eventually became the league's president. When the

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines, composed of twelve company-branded Franchising, franchise teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia ...

was formed in 1975, he became the inaugural board of governors' second vice president. He was inducted to the National Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000. In 2002, he played a role in establishing the Philippine Olympians Association (POA). He served as chairman of the POA.

Personal life

Rafael Hechanova was married to Mely Conception until the latter's death in 2019. He was also largely involved in

Rotary International Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. The self-declared mission of Rotary, as stated on its website, is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and p ...

serving as a director from 1996 to 1998. Rotary also tasked him and his wife to serve as

Mother Teresa Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu (born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, ; 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), better known as Mother Teresa or Saint Mother Teresa, was an Albanian-Indian Catholic Church, Roman Catholic nun, founder of the Missionaries of ...

's aides during her visit in Manila in 1984. Cecil Hechanova, the founding chairman of the

Philippine Sports Commission The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC; ) is an agency of the Philippine government that tackles matters concerning sports in the country. The sports agency is independent from the Philippine Olympic Committee, a privately-ran organization that e ...

, was also Rafael's brother.

Death

Hechanova died at the age of 93 on August 26, 2021.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hechanova, Rafael 1928 births 2021 deaths Sportspeople from Iloilo City Basketball players from Iloilo Olympic basketball players for the Philippines Basketball players at the 1952 Summer Olympics Asian Games medalists in basketball Basketball players at the 1951 Asian Games Basketball players at the 1954 Asian Games Philippines men's national basketball team players Filipino men's basketball players Asian Games gold medalists for the Philippines Asian Games basketball players for the Philippines Medalists at the 1951 Asian Games UST Growling Tigers basketball players 20th-century Filipino sportsmen