Paeng Nepomuceno wants PH mental game strong

Newly appointed national bowling head coach Paeng Nepomuceno will focus on the mental game of the players who are set to be named Philippine team members.

“Aside from their physical game and training, I will concentrate on the importance of the mental game of the bowling athletes,” Nepomuceno told the Inquirer.

The six-time World champion sure knows what he’s talking as he has faced countless pressure-packed moments in the span of his 42-year bowling career.

“Our goal is to make the Olympics,” said Nepomuceno. “But our immediate goal is to compete in the World Championships in September (in Hong Kong).”

Nepomuceno said the national team badly needs international exposure.

“Right now we only go out when it’s the Southeast Asian Games or the Asian Games, but it’s very important to play overseas,” he said.

Nepomuceno is a four-time World Cup champion in 1976, 1980, 1992 and 1996 that earned him different entries to the Guinness Book of World Records.

His coaching staff is composed of 2006 World Masters and 2010 Asian Games champion Biboy Rivera and long-time coaches Jojo Canare and Johnson Cheng. The staff is set to announce the names of the 10 men and 10 women who will make up the national team.

“My first reaction was ‘I wanted to help,’” Nepomuceno said of getting the offer to coach the national team. “This is a new challenge for me and it’s time to impart knowledge and experience to our youth in the national team.”