Planet’s most feared bowler is back

BUSAN, South Korea – The Asian Games gold medal he won in the men’s doubles will be as much cherished as the other big ones in Paeng Nepomuceno’s treasure chest.

"It’s the very first men’s gold medal for the Philippines in the Asian Games and you won it not for yourself but for the country," said the four-time World Cup champion, giving the country its first gold in the Busan Games together with the youthful RJ Bautista.

The entire RP camp in the Athletes Village was abuzz with excitement the morning after Nepomuceno and Bautista humbled a crack 47-team field to win the gold with a new Asiad record.

That ended four days of frustrations and near-misses for the RP contingent as the bowlers gave it a breakthrough victory and a morale-boost in the Games now reaching its halfway mark.

Nepomuceno and Bautista combined for 2714 total to improve the record of 2660 of Chinese-Taipei’s Chen Cho Yu and Wang Yuu Jen in Bangkok four years ago.

Until the Nepomuceno-Bautista duo triumphed at the Homeplus Asiad lanes, the RP team has been shut out of the gold medal since Bong Coo produced two in 1986 in Seoul.

But what made the victory even sweeter for Nepomuceno was that it stoked the fire of a second coming for the 45-year-old multi-titled Filipino who suffered a career-threatening wrist injury and needed a delicate surgery in 1999 to mend it.

"I’m just thankful to God that I can bowl again," he said.

His left wrist was so damaged after over three decades of bowling and as the pain became intense due to severe arthritic condition, Paeng was forced to go to United States for surgery.

"They took out the schapoid, the main wrist bone, then the joints that were rubbing each other were fused together because you cannot replace torn cartilage," he said.

For six months he was in full cast and then they put metal pins to strengthen it, which took him another three months of rest because he started a long and painful rehabilitation.

Although completely repaired, he still undergoes therapeutic treatment even here at the Athletes Village.

The 6-foot-2 champ designed a wrist support because his left wrist was weaker now than the right and his hand movement was reduced to 40 percent after the operation and completely modified his game.

Then came the second win in his career. He begun winning again, topping the Asian Tour’s Thailand leg, the Korean International Open over the Asiad venue and rolled a perfect game in the Malaysian International early this year. And then he swept the men’s doubles gold with Bautista.

"This is one of those I will treasure most," he said.

The ones that rank high in his collection are the four World Cups, the Athlete of the Millennium award given by the World FIQ and the IOC highest award presented personally to him by former IOC chief Juan Antonio Samaranch.

Yes, the planet’s most feared bowler is back.