Tungod, Inabanga, Bohol? The Philippines is composed of three major groups of islands, namely; Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. This archipelago in southeast Asia is also home to three major sports personalities that have etched their indelible marks in their respective disciplines. Paeng, Bata, and Pac-Man are names that will always be synonymous to greatness, if not greatest, in their own fields. Rafael ?Paeng? Nepomuceno?s achievements in Bowling are unparalleled, while Efren ?Bata? Reyes? mark in Billiards has earned him the reputation as the greatest to have ever held the cue stick. Manny ?Pacman? Pacquiao?s exploits in Boxing are unprecedented and unworldly. Bowling, Billiards, and Boxing are sports that did not originate from the Philippines? but in spite of that, these three legendary Pinoy athletes have carved a way to secure the loftiest of distinctions in the sport that they can very well call their own!
Let?s Start off with Rafael ?Paeng? Nepomuceno, a six-time World Bowling Champion who owns 118 career bowling titles that include four Bowling World Cups. He is the only bowling athlete in the world who has received the prestigious International Olympic Committee President?s Trophy. Paeng was also the first international male bowling athlete to be enshrined in the International Bowling Hall of Fame and Museum based in St. Louis, Missouri in 1993 where his seven foot image is displayed at the Museum?s entrance. In November 1999, the Federation Internationale des Quilleurs (FIQ) named Paeng as the ?International Bowling Athlete of the Millennium? and in September of 2003, Paeng was named by the Prestigious Bowlers Journal International as the ?Greatest International Bowler of All Time.?
Paeng is probably best known for being listed in Guiness Book of World Records for three separate distinctions, namely; i.) for being the youngest (at 19 years old) person to win the Bowling World Cup, ii.) for most Bowling World Cup wins (a total of 4), and iii.) for having won the most number of bowling tournament titles (a total of 118).
Nepomuceno?s consistency and dominance over a relatively long period of time is probably what separates him from the rest. This is manifested by the numerous accolades he has received throughout the years, in fact, spanning decades. He is the only athlete in the Philippines who has been given the highest award to a Filipino by three Philippine presidents. In 1984, Paeng was awarded the Presidential Medal of Merit by President Ferdinand E. Marcos. In 1999, President Joseph E. Estrada awarded the Philippine Legion of Honor and in 2008, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo awarded Paeng the Order of Lakandula with Class of Champion for Life and was declared Best Filipino athlete of all time. Both the Philippine Senate and the House of Representatives have declared Paeng the “Greatest Philippine Athlete of All Time”.
Now let?s proceed to possibly the most loved and most adorable Pinoy athlete of all time ? Efren ?Bata? Reyes. Nicknamed ?The Magician?, Reyes requires no introduction to any fan of the game today. Bata took the pool world by storm, winning at least 78 international tournaments along the way. Most great players develop their expertise and exceptional play in one particular pool game, be it pocket billiards, snooker or billiards. It is extremely hard to specialize in 2 of those 3 categories, but Reyes is an all around player. He plays extremely well in all three categories. This separates him from the rest of the pool greats and puts him on a league of his own.
Owning almost certainly the world?s most adorable toothless smile, The Magician has endeared himself to fans with his exciting and magical brand of play that has definitely changed the game in more ways than one. He is a two-time world champion and has two World Cup of Pool titles under his belt that he shares with bosom buddy Francisco ?Django? Bustamante. In 2003, Bata became the first Asian to be inducted into the Billiard Congress of America?s Hall of Fame. As a player in professional pool, Reyes has been known to have won a number of money-rich tournaments worldwide. This makes him one of the most profitable players around. To prove it, he topped AZ Billiards Money List 5 times; 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2006. In 2006 he set a record by earning $646K in a single year.
This brings us to who many might consider as the greatest Filipino athlete of all-time, Manny ?Pacman? Pacquiao. The Pinoy firebomb?s legendary rise didn?t come on a silver platter. He had to overcome size disadvantages throughout his rise to boxing superstardom. He is a 4-division lineal world champion (112lbs, 126lbs, 130 lbs, and 140lbs) and 8-division champion in as many weight categories (112lbs, 122lbs, 126lbs, 130lbs, 135lbs, 140lbs, 147lbs, and 154lbs). A handful of boxing pundits and historians still rank him below names like Robinson and Ali in the all-time list. This is to be expected especially that comparisons between greats of different eras present too many problems and what ifs that could be a subject of another topic. Furthermore, rankings are sometimes too subjective and largely depend the biases and prejudices of the one doing the ranking. On that regard, in my eyes and in the eyes of many others, Pacquiao has done more than enough to rank him atop anyone among boxing?s all time greats.
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