Paeng Nepomuceno

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. 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. Provided by Wikipedia