Rafael "Paeng" Villareal Nepomuceno (born January 30, 1957) is a Filipino bowler and coach who is a six time World bowling champion. He is a World Bowling Hall of Famer and is the first and only bowling athlete to be awarded with the prestigious IOC (International Olympic Committee) President's Trophy. He was also named International Bowling Athlete of the Millennium by the FIQ (Federation Internationale des Quilleurs) in 1999 and was inducted in the Philippine Sports Hall of Fame in 2018. Paeng is the first Filipino bowling athlete to be honored with a commemorative stamp when the Philippine Postal corporation issued a World Renowned Filipino Living Legend Stamp bearing his image to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the first Philippine stamp on November 13, 2021. He has won the World Cup of Bowling four times (1976, 1980, 1992 and 1996). Nepomuceno has also won the World's Invitational Tournament in 1984 and the World Tenpin Masters championship in 1999. He has been honored by the Guinness World Records four times. His first was as the "Youngest tenpin bowling world champion" by winning the 1976 Bowling World Cup in Tehran, then for "the most wins of the tenpin bowling world cup (1976, 1980, 1992, and 1996)", and for "the most tenpin bowling titles of 133 and was achieved in Quezon City, Philippines, on 13 July 2019", he broke his own record of 118 titles which was first established in 2007. Nepomuceno is also a USBC Gold level coach, the only Asian to hold the certification from the

United States Bowling Congress The United States Bowling Congress (USBC) is a sports membership organization dedicated to ten-pin bowling in the United States of America, United States. It was formed in 2005 by a merger of the American Bowling Congress—the original codifier ...

. He was named by the Philippine Sportswriters Association the Athlete of the Year in 1999. The Bowlers Journal International picked Paeng as its Greatest international bowler in its International Edition in September 2004 and also on its November 2013 100-year Anniversary issue. Paeng at 65 years old rolled his 37th Sanctioned Perfect 300 game at the 24th Sta Lucia East Bowling Association (SLETBA) Open Masters Finals on October 16, 2022.

Early life and education

Rafael "Paeng" Nepomuceno was born on January 30, 1957, in

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read and pronounced in Filipino language, Filipino as Kyusi), is the richest and List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 c ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

to Angel Nepomuceno and Teresa Villareal. Paeng Nepomuceno's father, Angel, is a bowling coach while his mother is a former Miss Philippines (1952). He attended

La Salle Green Hills La Salle Green Hills ("LSGH") is a private Catholic school run by the Philippine District of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools in Ortigas Avenue, Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines. It was established in 1959 by the D ...

for his elementary and high school studies. He studied in

Adamson University Adamson University (; AdU or ADU) is a private Catholic university operated by the Congregation of the Mission located in Manila, Philippines. The university has academic programs in graduate school, law, the liberal arts, sciences, engineerin ...

for his college education.

Career

Competitive career

Paeng Nepomuceno was initially into

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

at age 10 but later switched to bowling. He got involved in bowling after he and his father sought shelter at the Mile High Bowling Center in Baguio due to rain. He then asked his father to enroll him in a junior league held at Coronado Lanes in

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila ( ), commonly shortened to Metro Manila and formally the National Capital Region (NCR; ), is the capital region and largest List of metropolitan areas in the Philippines, metropolitan area of the Philippines. Located ...

. His first tournament was the Philippine Junior Masters Championship, which he won at age 15. He also won the Philippine International Masters at age 17, becoming the youngest winner of the tournament. He competed at the Bowling World Cup, becoming the men's champion in four editions (1976, 1980, 1992, and 1996). He was 19 years old when he won the 1976 edition. For this feat he was recognized by

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...

as "youngest tenpin bowling world champion". Nepomuceno also competed at the

Southeast Asian Games The Southeast Asian Games, commonly known as SEA Games is a biennial multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia. The games are under the regulation of the Southeast Asian Games Federation with sup ...

. He won three gold medals in the 1981 edition which was hosted in Manila. In the 1985 Bangkok Games, he won two Gold medals and a Bronze. He won three gold medals at the 1987 games in

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

and one gold medal at the 1991 games in Manila. He also won the 1984 World Invitational Tournament, a competition held in conjunction with the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

held in the same year. Nepomuceno also has represented the Philippines in the

World Games The World Games are an international multi-sport event comprising sports and sporting disciplines that are not contested in the Olympic Games. They are usually held every four years, one year after a Summer Olympic Games, over the course of 11 d ...

winning the two bronze medals in total; in the 1993 and 1997 editions both in the men's single event. He also won the

World Tenpin Masters The World Tenpin Masters (founded in 1998) is an annual Ten-pin bowling tournament. It consists of a single lane surrounded by banked seating on both sides to give the event the kind of high-pressure atmosphere that makes the Masters the world’ ...

in 1999. That year he suffered a left-hand injury, which required surgery which temporarily sidelined him from bowling. Nepomuceno was given the Sportsman Award at the 2009 QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup. He is the first Filipino to receive the award. In 2011, he became the oldest winner of the Philippine International Masters, at age 54. By 2020, he had won 133 career titles, six of which are world titles. His latest title, his 133rd, was won at the 2019 PTBA Open Bowling Championships Masters in July 2019.

Coaching career

Nepomuceno joined

in 2007 as an International Ambassador to help promote the sport of bowling. In the same year he began aiming to become a USBC certified coach and started training to become a USBC Coaching Level I and Bronze and Silver level Instructor. He hosted seminars discussing coaching and the sport itself. He underwent training the International Training and Research Center in

Arlington, Texas Arlington is a city in Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and is a principal c ...

, to attain a USBC gold level coaching certification, which he earned by 2013. He received the certification at the World Coaching conference at the USBC headquarters the following year. He is the first and only Asian to attain the certification. The Philippine Bowling Federation announced on March 21, 2016, that Nepomuceno had been appointed as head coach of the country's national bowlers. Under his watch, Krizziah Tabora became the women's champion of the 2017 QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup.

Honors

By world sporting bodies

The

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

awarded Nepomuceno its highest sports award, the IOC President's Trophy during the term of

Juan Antonio Samaranch Juan Antonio Samaranch y Torelló, 1st Marquess of Samaranch ( Catalan: ''Joan Antoni Samaranch i Torelló'', ; 17 July 1920 – 21 April 2010) was a Spanish sports administrator under the Franco regime (1973–1977) who served as the seventh ...

, in November 1999, in a ceremony in Abu Dhabi. In the same year the Federation Internationale des Quilleurs (FIQ) named him as the "Athlete of the Millennium". He was the first male bowler to be inducted into the

International Bowling Hall of Fame The World Bowling Writers (WBW) International Bowling Hall of Fame was established in 1993 and is located in the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame, on the International Bowling Campus in Arlington, Texas. History The International Bow ...

, in 1993. His seven foot image is displayed in front of the entrance of the

International Bowling Museum The International Bowling Museum is a sports museum located inside the International Bowling Campus in Arlington, Texas. It opened on January 26, 2010, after previously being located in St. Louis, Missouri. The design and fabrication of the new ...

, where the hall of fame is hosted.

From the government

Nepomuceno has received recognition from the Philippine Presidents for his feats in bowling. Five Philippine presidents have conferred on him orders and medals, including the Presidential Medal of Merit by

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino lawyer, politician, dictator, and Kleptocracy, kleptocrat who served as the tenth president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled the c ...

Philippine Legion of Honor The Philippine Legion of Honor (; ) was established by President Manuel Roxas, through Philippine Army Circular No. 60 dated July 3, 1947. The Philippine Legion of Honour, Honor was patterned after the Legion of Merit of the United States of Amer ...

Joseph Estrada Joseph Ejercito Estrada (; born Jose Marcelo Ejercito; April 19, 1937), also known by the nickname Erap, is a Filipino politician and former actor, who served as the 13th president of the Philippines from 1998 until his resignation in 2001. ...

, and the

Order of Lakandula The Order of Lakandula () is one of the highest civilian orders of the Philippines, established on September 19, 2003. It is awarded for political and civic merit and in memory of Lakandula’s dedication to the responsibilities of leadership ...

with Class of Champion for Life by

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal-Arroyo (; born April 5, 1947), often referred to as PGMA or GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician who served as the 14th president of the Philippines from Presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, 2001 to 2010 ...

. He is the first Filipino athlete to be awarded the Presidential Medal of Merit (1984) and the Philippine Legion of Honor (1999). The other presidents that have honored Paeng are President Corazon C. Aquino and President

Fidel V. Ramos Fidel Valdez Ramos (; March 18, 1928 – July 31, 2022), popularly known as FVR, was a Filipino general and politician who served as the 12th president of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. He was the only career military officer to reached ...

. Both the Philippine Senate and House of Representatives have declared Paeng the "Greatest Philippine Athlete of All Time". He was also named Philippine Athlete of the Century by the Philippine Sportswriters Association in 1999.

From sportswriters

The Philippine Sportswriters Association recognized Nepomuceno as the

Athlete of the Year Athlete of the Year is an award given by various sports organizations for the athlete whom they have determined to be deserving of such recognition. Definition of "athlete" *In many nations, an "athlete" primarily refers to someone who participa ...

five times (in 1976, 1980, 1984, 1992, and 1996). The association inducted him to their Hall of Fame in 1997, and in 1999 named him Athlete of the Century and in 2000 he was named among the "Athletes of the Millennium". The World Bowling Writers awarded him the Mort Luby Jr. Distinguished Service Award, named him World Bowler of the Year three times (1984, 1985, and 1992), and named him to the World Bowling Writers Hall of Fame in 1993 as its first inductee.

Other

The Philippine Jaycees gave Nepomuceno a Ten Outstanding Young Men Award in 1978. He was inducted into the De La Salle Alumni Association Sports Hall of Fame in 2003 and was also awarded with the Distinguished Lasallian Award in 2009. He has been part of

's Hall of Fame since 2012. He has been honored four times in the

. They recognized him as the "youngest tenpin bowling champion" by winning the 1976 Bowling World Cup in Tehran, for winning "most wins of the tenpin bowling world cup (1976, 1980, 1992, and 1996)", and for "most tenpin bowling titles" (133 titles as of 2020 records).

Personal life

Paeng Nepomuceno has been married to Saira ("Pinky") Puyat since he was 25. They have a son and two daughters. Nepomuceno is a physical fitness enthusiast and also participates in runs and lifts weights as

cross-training Cross-training is athletic training in sports other than the athlete's usual sport. The goal is improving overall performance. It takes advantage of the particular effectiveness of one training method to negate the shortcomings of another. In gen ...

to improve his performance in bowling. Currently he is a professor and a senior lecturer at the University of the Philippines.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nepomuceno, Paeng Nepumuceno, Rafael Sportspeople from Quezon City Filipino people of Spanish descent Recipients of the Order of Lakandula 1957 births Living people Asian Games medalists in bowling Bowlers at the 1994 Asian Games Bowlers at the 1998 Asian Games Bowlers at the 2002 Asian Games Bowlers at the 2006 Asian Games Asian Games gold medalists for the Philippines Asian Games silver medalists for the Philippines Medalists at the 1994 Asian Games Medalists at the 2002 Asian Games SEA Games gold medalists for the Philippines SEA Games silver medalists for the Philippines SEA Games bronze medalists for the Philippines SEA Games medalists in bowling Academic staff of the University of the Philippines Adamson University alumni World Games bronze medalists World Games medalists in bowling Competitors at the 1991 SEA Games Competitors at the 1993 SEA Games Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Merit (Philippines) Philippine Sports Hall of Fame inductees World Games medalists for the Philippines Medalists at the 1997 World Games Medalists at the 1993 World Games