Paeng Nepomuceno earns third Guinness record

MANILA, Philippines—Paeng Nepomuceno made it to the Guinness World Records for the third time after clinching his 118th career championship late last year, making him the holder of the most number of tenpin bowling titles.

The six-time world champion topped Melbourne’s South Pacific Classic on Sept. 18, 2007, beating World Tenpin Masters champion Jason Belmonte for his 118th crown.

“This is a great honor and I’d like to share it with all my countrymen,” said Nepomuceno. “Whenever I compete, my countrymen always give me great support which inspires me to always do my best.”

The win in Melbourne also earned the 51-year-old southpaw the title Order of Lakandula with the special class of Champion for Life from President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

It was Nepomuceno’s third presidential award after the Presidential Medal of Merit conferred by the late President Ferdinand Marcos in 1984 and the Philippine Legion of Honor given by former President Joseph Estrada in 1999. The Senate and Congress have also recognized him as the greatest Philippine athlete of all time.

Nepomuceno’s name first appeared in the Guinness book as winner of four World Cup titles in three different decades—in Tehran on Nov. 19, 1976; in Jakarta on Nov. 1, 1980; in Le Mans, France, on Nov. 8, 1992; and in Belfast, Northern Ireland on Nov. 23, 1996.

He was honored the second time as the youngest bowler, at 19 years old, to win the World Cup.

Nepomuceno has won in the Americas, Europe, Asia, Middle East and Africa. ( www.inquirer.net )