Francisco “Django” Bustamante and Efren “Bata” Reyes arrive in Manila, July 7, 2010. (c/o TJ Manotoc, ABS-CBN News)

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino pool legends Francisco “Django” Bustamante and Efren “Bata” Reyes arrived in the country Wednesday morning after Bustamante’s successful campaign at the WPA World 9-Ball Championships in Doha, Qatar.

Reyes, a former World 9-Ball champion, said he was very happy for his friend’s achievement.

He even joked that Bustamante has been waiting for his first world title for more than 30 years ever since he became a professional cue artist.

Bustamante, for his part, said he did not expect to bag the World 9-Ball title at this point of his career when he was up against younger opponents.

“‘Di ko nga inaasahan na manalo doon dahil ang bigat ng bracket namin ni pareng Efren,” he told ABS-CBN News.

He dedicated his win to his family and Filipinos all over the world: “Sa pamilya at sa mga kababayan natin, siyempre alam mo naman ‘yun, world championship.”

The Philippines currently has 4 World 9-Ball champions—Bustamante, Reyes, Ronnie “Volcano” Alcano and Alex “The Lion” Pagulayan.

Reyes commented that he expects more Filipinos to bring pride to the country by winning the World 9-Ball Championships.

“Tingin ko pa marami pang darating ‘yan, maraming susunod diyan sa atin… Sina Jeffrey de Luna, Carlo Biado.”

He also cited that Roberto “Pinoy Superman” Gomez, the 2007 World Pool Championship finalist, almost made it.

“Tignan mo si Gomez, muntik na rin. Wala pa ring suwerte siguro. Darating din ‘yan,” added Reyes.

The next mission for Bustamante and Reyes, meantime, is to defend their World Cup of Pool title in September. They bagged their second PartyCasino.net World Cup of Pool title last year after edging out Germans Ralf Souquet and Thorsten Hohmann.

Francisco "Django" Bustamante, the 2010 World 9-Ball champion

Long wait is over

Bustamante bested Kuo Po-cheng of Chinese Taipei, 13-7, in the final. He brought home the top prize of $36,000 or more than P1.6 million.

The new World 9-Ball champion could not hide his excitement at the Qatar Billiards and Snooker Federation hall as he was jumping and exchanging high-fives with fans.

After his win early Tuesday morning, Bustamante immediately called his wife, Mila, in the Philippines.

“Naiiyak po siya at sabi pa nga sa akin akala niya laos na siya eh ‘yun pala kaya pa niya makipag-sabayan sa mga bata,” said Mila.

Bustamante is not a stranger in the World Pool finals.

In the 2002 quarterfinals, he learned that his 7-month-old daughter had died. Despite the tragedy, he was convinced by his family and friends to play on.

He lost in the finals to American Earl “The Pearl” Strickland in a close match.

Sports analyst Ronnie Nathanielsz remembers the pain Bustamante went through.

“Heartbreaking ‘yung finals nun. He was up 15-13 going for the break and then nag-scratch siya. Strickland won four in a row,” he noted. “Heartbreaking. Kasi dalawang heartbreak in a row, lost his daughter and then lost the finals.”

Nathanielsz added that Bustamante has long been dreaming of the World Pool title. – With reports from Marlon Bernardino and TJ Manotoc, ABS-CBN News