Rafael Hechanova, Sr. was a basketball player who competed in the 1952 Summer Olympics. He was a three-time member of the national team who became president of the Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association (MICAA) in the 1970s. At the age of 24, he participated in his first and only Olympic Games where the Philippine team placed 9th out of 23 countries overall.

Hechanova played varsity ball with University of Santo Tomas that dominated the UAAP and NCAA in the 1950s. He later on played for YCO in the MICAA commercial league and was part of Philippine squad that captured the basketball championship in the first Asian Games in New Delhi, India in 1951. He was the team caption the following year and made it anew in the 1954 national team for the Manila Asiad.

1952 Summer Olympics, Helsinki