Flor Meléndez
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born |
January 12, 1947 Cidra, Puerto Rico |
| Nationality | Puerto Rican |
| Listed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Listed weight | 190 lb (86 kg) |
| Career information | |
| Playing career | 1965–1977 |
| Position | Shooting Guard |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
| 1965—1971 | Santos de San Juan |
| 1972—1977 | Gigantes de Carolina |
| As coach: | |
| 2011—2013 | Puerto Rico National Team |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| As coach: | |
Flor Meléndez Montañez (born January 12, 1947), better known plainly as Flor Meléndez, is a well known former basketball player and an international coach from Puerto Rico. He is a native of Cidra and former head coach of Puerto Rico's basketball team.
Meléndez is the son of Florencio Meléndez and Emilia Montañez. He grew up alongside seven brothers and three sisters. Two of his brothers, Jorge and Diego, also had notable careers as basketball players.
Meléndez enjoyed sports since a young age. He moved to Cantera, a San Juan area that is close to the childhood homes of salsa singer Andy Montañez and world boxing champion Ossie Ocasio, when he was still a child. At Cantera, he was enrolled at the Oratorio San Juan Bosco school, where he participated in one of Puerto Rico's best known Association football programs, the "Don Bosco" teams. He also enjoyed playing baseball.
Although Meléndez would have probably been chosen to play on Puerto Rico's Liga de Baloncesto Superior (Puerto Rico's professional basketball league) he decided to pursue basketball as a future career, playing in the YMCA before entering the Puerto Rico's professional basketball league in 1965, with San Juan's squad.
Meléndez began his coaching career in 1967, coaching a youth team. In 1968, Meléndez became a member of the Puerto Rican national basketball team that competed at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City. He also represented the country in Spain, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic as a player with the national team.
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