INQUIRER Sports

The papers on Monday reported the death of Angel Nepomuceno, 81, father of bowler Paeng Nepomuceno, who has won for the country a total of four World Cups in three different decades.

Many among our younger breed of sports enthusiasts were to learn for the first time that it was Mang Angel, Paeng?s coach, who tutored and guided the legendary lefty to all-time greatness.

Another thing young sports buffs will have to be told is the sad fact that we may never have another Paeng Nepomuceno in this lifetime.

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Why? We may never have another Paeng because there will never be another Mang Angel.

That may sound corny, if not maudlin, to the young ones.

But this is neither a stunt nor an attempt to inject heroic hue into the subject.

Knowing Angel Nepomuceno, he would have frowned on the idea.

OK, he was said to be a child actor, having come from a great movie-producing clan.

But Mang Angel definitely hated the limelight.

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?He?s not the loud, chest-thumping sort, hindi mapapel,? noted veteran sports chronicler Ernie Gonzales, now also helping put to bed the Inquirer sports page.

Ernie added that, with due apologies to Tatang de la Vega, he has no memory of Mang Angel suddenly surfacing at Paeng?s side during moments of triumph.

He was always there, but was hardly ever seen, Ernie added.

Maybe also an invisible presence, an angel who would evaporate the moment Paeng headed for the victory stand.

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Well, call him by any name but Angel Nepomuceno was quite a rarity.

Can we, for example, suggest anybody from among our self-styled sports leaders, both in the Philippine Olympic Committee and the Philippine Sports Commission, who will swear they are honestly there for the sake of sports?and not for self-advertisement?

Now, come to think of it, didn?t Mang Angel also weave coaching magic solely for his heir?

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Not quite, the papers proceeded to report:

?Other than the four World Cups and two other world titles by his son, Angel Nepomuceno was head coach when the Philippine team brought home a record seven gold medals from the Jakarta Southeast Asian Games in 1987.

?In the late ?70s, he also guided former national bowler Linda Reyes in winning six consecutive Masters titles.?

Also worthy of mention were the 113 other championship crowns and three unbroken entries in the Guinness Book of World Records by Paeng under Mang Angel.

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Needless to say, an even greater trait that has rubbed off on Paeng was his father?s dedication and humility.

It?s like this. With his record achievements in the international field, Paeng could have been a hands-down winner in a political exercise.

But, through it all, the feet of the shy, soft-spoken Paeng?thanks to his father?have remained firmly planted on the ground.

Calm and collected, there was never an instance when Paeng had been giddy with success.

Mang Angel, more of an unsung hero, deserves a monument.

What could be bigger than Paeng Nepomuceno, all-time bowling great, to remember his father by?