Ernesto Agard

The eldest of three children, Ernesto Agard began playing basketball in 1954 and went on to represent the Panama national team for 15 years. Agard had his first international success in 1959 when he was part of the team that won bronze at the Central American and Caribbean Games in Caracas. Three years later he returned to the Games, this time winning silver. Panama’s best performances came a few years later when they won bronze at the 1967 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, securing the team a spot at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. Agard played in all nine of Panama’s matches at the Games, scoring 74 points. He then played at one more edition of the Central American and Caribbean Games, this time winning gold in 1970 in front of a home crowd.

In 1963 Agard had the honour of being invited to join the Harlem Globetrotters on their tour of South America. In a gruelling schedule they played more than 50 games in as many days, but only lost one of them. That same year Agard was named as the MVP of Panama’s national team. A decade later he joined the veterans league, playing there until 1985 before leaving Panama to live in the United States due to the political instability of the time. In the US Agard became a security guard at the Miami Herald, played college basketball with students, and was a regular attendee at Miami Heat games. After his retirement he returned home to Panama.