INQUIRER Sports

MANILA, Philippines?Thanks, but no thanks.

Paeng Nepomuceno, four-time World Cup bowling champion and a Hall of Famer, on Saturday declined endorsements for him to run as president of the Philippine Bowling Congress.

In a text message from Hong Kong, where he is conducting a coaching conference, Nepomuceno said that while he was moved by the gesture, he would rather help the sport through other means.

?I am flattered that I am being considered,? said the 51-year-old Nepomuceno. ?I am not interested and have to decline. A large part of my time is spent in training, preparation and traveling to international competitions and traveling as international ambassador for bowling.?

With 188 titles and three Guinness Book of World Record citations, Nepomuceno is still active in international competitions.

His current goal is to help bowling make it as a regular sport in the Olympics. The sport was played as demonstration event in the 1988 Seoul Games, where Ariane Cerdena bagged the gold medal.

?I am lending my efforts to helping to have bowling get recognized as an Olympic sport,? added Nepomuceno. ?I also accredit coaches and that takes up a large chunk of my time.?

His name cropped up after outgoing PBC chief Steve Hontiveros said Nepomuceno would be ?the unifying factor? in the sport because he is the ?hero in the sport.?

But Nepomuceno, the youngest player to have won the World Cup at age 19, said: ?Presently, I really have no time. I am in HK now conducting a tri-level USBC coaching conference.?