team, Meléndez made his debut as BSN head coach, with the Gigantes. He coached them into two more consecutive finals, but they again fell short to the Dalmau led Piratas de Quebradillas, in 1978 and 1979. His first year as head coach of the Gigantes, Meléndez won the BSN's coach of the year award. That same year, he became head coach of the men's national team, leading them to a gold medal in the Pre-Olympics. Because United States President Jimmy Carter announced a boycott of the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, Meléndez was deprived of participating in his second Olympic Games. In 1981, Meléndez returned to the finals, this time coaching the Bayamón Cowboys, who, helped by stars such as Rubén Rodríguez, Jose Sosa and Roberto Valderas, won the national championship by defeating Fico Lopez, Mario Morales and the Julio Toro coached Guaynabo Mets. Meléndez and Toro sustained a coaching rivalry during the early 1980s that lasted a few years. In 1982, the Cowboys lost to the Mets in the tournament's semifinals. Meléndez remained as head coach of the men's national team until 1983, when he retired as head coach of that organization, having led them to a silver medal at the 1979 Pan American Games held in San Juan, and at the 1981 Centrobasket tournament as well as the 1982 Central American and Caribbean games. From 1982 to 1985, Meléndez coach the Obras Sanitarias and guided the team to the 1983 FIBA Intercontinental Cup title, becoming the first Puerto Rican coach to win the competition. In 1985, Meléndez led José Ortiz and the Atleticos de San German to that franchise's first championship in 30 years. He then moved to Argentina, where he was named head coach of that country's national team. He coached in Argentina's professional league, and had a stint as head coach of a professional team in Venezuela. Meléndez would later on move to Panama, where he also was head coach of the national team. In 1992, Melendez earned his second BSN coach of the year award, and he repeated it in 1993. Back at the helm of the Bayamón Cowboys, Meléndez won his third national championship in 1995, leading the team to back to back titles when they also conquered the 1996 championship. In 1999, Meléndez made history by taking Club de Regatas Vasco da Gama, the Brazilian basketball team to the McDonald's Cup final, facing NBA