For bowling legend Paeng Nepomuceno, what is his most memorable award? 

Bowling legend Paeng Nepomuceno has a lot of awards under his belt, including recognition by the Guinness World Records of his feats in bowling four times.

But among all his accolades, Nepomuceno considers the International Olympic Committee President's Trophy to be the most memorable one.

"Special sa akin kasi 'yung award na 'yun, binibigay sa best performing athlete sa Olympics, since bowling is not an Olympic sport and in 1999, pumili sila ng isang atleta na makakatanggap ng pinakamataas na award sa sports. Usually, binibigay ang awards sa mga multimedalist sa isang Olympic event, so at that year, ako ang napili nila," Nepomuceno said in an interview on 'Surprise Guest with Pia Arcangel'.

("That award is special to me. They usually give it to the best performing athlete in the Olympics, but bowling was not an Olympic sport. In 1999, they chose an athlete to receive this highest of awards in sports. Usually, it's given to a multimedalist in an Olympic event, so that year, I was chosen for the award.")

Despite all the achievements, Nepomuceno said talent requires hard work and patience and the results will follow.

"You know, the very first lesson I learned when I bowled — nobody's born a champion," the bowling icon said.

"I took it step by step. Gusto ko maging best ako dito sa mga youth, dito sa club namin. [Then] okay gusto ko maging pinakamagaling sa youth sa buong Pilipinas, so ang goal-setting dapat step by step kasi kung magdi-dream ka na maging world champion agad, baka ma-discourage ka kasi hindi naman ano eh, many obstacles will come to your way. Then you have to do a lot of sacrifice and siyempre I learned that 'yung self sacrifice, kusang loob, hindi dahil sasabihin ng coach mo or magulang mo or maging disiplina[do] ka, kailangan kusang loob, so yun ang natutunan ko sa sports."

("I took it step by step I wanted to be the best among the youth, in our club. [Then} okay I wanted to be the best among the youth across the whole Philippines. So the goal-setting has to be step by step because if you dream to become world champion right away, you might be discouraged because many obstacles will come your way. Then you have to do a lot of sacrifice and I learned that self-sacrifice, of your own choice, not because your coach or parents said so, or your discipline, it has to be your own choice, so that's what I learned in sports.")

Now 65, Nepomuceno continues to show his brilliance in bowling as he recently bagged a gold medal in the Asian Senior Bowling Championship.

—JMB, GMA Integrated News