Franklin Standard Johnson

Franklin Standard was a player and later coach for Cuban basketball for many years.

He was part of the basketball team that won the bronze medal at the Munich 1972 Olympic Games before the Munich achievement, and he was also in the previous edition of Mexico 1968.

A year before hanging the Cuban basketball Olympic bronze medal, Franklin Standard Johnson also achieved the bronze medal with the island at the Pan American Games in Cali, Colombia, in 1971.

"As a coach he worked at the Espa Provincial Manuel Permuy and at the Eide Mártires de Barbados, both in Havana, as well as in the direction of the Capital teams in the Superior League".

The 1972 bronze was the first and only Olympic medal for Cuban basketball, which was achieved in an exciting match against Italy for third place.

Cuba opened the Olympics by defeating Egypt on August 27 by 105 to 64. It then defeated Spain 74 to 63. It lost next —the only game we lost in the qualifying round— against the United States by 48 to 67. Later we defeated Czechoslovakia 77 to 65. Then Australia 84 to 70 and we crushed Japan 108 to 63 afterwards, ending with a dramatic victory over Brazil by 64 to 63.

Then in the crossover, it lost to the USSR by just 6 points (67 to 61) and that is why we had to dispute the bronze medal against Italy, which put the final point on a sporting achievement for Cuban basketball.