Paeng started bowling by accident

Four-time World Cup champion Paeng Nepomuceno was one of 10 athletes inducted into the Philippine Sports Hall of Fame in enshrinement rites at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) last week and revealed, in his acceptance remarks, that he started bowling only by accident.

Nepomuceno, 61, said he was initially into golf at the age of 10. When he was 11, Nepomuceno and his father were in Baguio to play golf but rain prevented them from traversing the greens. Under the pouring rain, they sought shelter at the Mile Hill Bowling Center where Nepomuceno’s eyes were opened to the sport. Within four years, Nepomuceno won the Philippine juniors title and within eight years, he became the youngest World Cup champion ever, a feat recognized by the Guinness Book of Records. Today, Nepomuceno holds three Guinness citations, the two others for winning the World Cup in three different decades and for collecting the most career championships with over 120. He’s the only athlete to have been honored and recognized by seven Philippine presidents from Ferdinand Marcos to Rodrigo Duterte.

Nepomuceno said exactly 50 years ago, he began his love affair with bowling and credited his late father Angel, Pablo Carlos and father-in-law Popit Puyat for pushing him to reach unimaginable heights. He is now head coach of the national bowling team.

The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) enshrined the first batch of Sports Hall of Famers in 2010, honoring Flash Elorde, Pancho Villa, Ceferino Garcia, Cely Villanueva and Anthony Villanueva of boxing, Miguel White and Simeon Toribio of athletics, Teofilo Yldefonso of swimming, Caloy Loyzaga of basketball and the Philippine team that finished third at the FIBA World Cup in Rio de Janeiro in 1954.

The second batch was inducted in 2016. The honorees were Eugene Torre of chess, Haydee Espino, Jacinto Cayco, Mohammad Mala and Ral Rosario of swimming, Ed Ocampo, Kurt Bachmann and Mariano Tolentino of basketball, Salvador del Rosario of weightlifting, Martin Guison and Chito Feliciano of shooting, Rey Deyro, Totoy Ampon and Johnny Jose of tennis and Mona Sulaiman, Inocenica Solis and Isaac Gomez of athletics.

Aside from Nepomuceno, the other inductees in the third batch were Ben Arda of golf, Sen. Ambrosio Padilla and Loreto Carbonell of basketball, Erbito Salavarria of boxing, Boy Codinera of baseball, Bong Coo and Lita de la Rosa of bowling and Josephine de la Vina and Lydia de Vega of athletics.

In last week’s induction, six awardees were cited posthumously. The only Hall of Famers who received their trophies and P100,000 checks personally were Nepomuceno, De Vega, Salavarria and Coo. De Vega, 53, flew in from Singapore, where she has been a track coach over the last 13 years, for the ceremonies. De Vega, a two-time Olympian, was once Asia’s fastest woman, winning the gold in the 100-meter dash at the 1982 and 1986 Asian Games.

Like Nepomuceno, Coo disclosed something personal in her acceptance remarks. Coo, 70, said a split from her husband with whom she had two sons led to a career in bowling which she described as an outlet. Coo dedicated her all to the sport and came away with 79 medals and over 130 titles. She was voted World Bowler of the Year in 1986 and awarded an Achievement Diploma by IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch for her contributions in promoting women in sports in 2000. Coo is currently the secretary-general of the Philippine Bowling Federation, the POC-recognized NSA for the sport.

There are now 37 inductees in the Sports Hall of Fame. The honorees came from 11 sports – basketball and athletics with seven each, boxing with six, swimming with five, tennis and bowling with three, shooting with two and weightlifting, chess, baseball and golf with one each. For sure, the next batch of inductees will include legends from football and billiards, too.