Francisco “Django” Bustamante and fellow masters Efren “Bata” Reyes and Dennis Orcollo would have to shift their attention elsewhere after the Derby Classic set in January in Kentucky was canceled because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Bustamante also said that 10 other tournaments in the US were scratched.
“We play the Derby Classic every January Pareng Efren and Dennis,” he said. “Until now, we don’t have any details yet regarding the canceled events.”
Bustamante coached the national team to four of the 10 gold medals staked in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, allowing the Philippine to retain its regional supremacy in the sport.
The Tarlac native flew to the US after that initially for a brief family vacation, but was locked down and it was only in July that they were able to fly home.
“I was in Los Angeles when the lockdown started. It was horrible because there were a lot of cases there,” he said. “I had my vacation there with my family and I thought we would enjoy, but we were locked down.”
Bustamante and his family were able to secure a ticket not for Manila, but for Cebu where they had to undergo a two-day quarantine upon arrival last July 4, before flying anew to Manila to get to their home in Bicutan, Taguig.
“We were able to provide travel requirements especially the swab tests. Thank God they’re negative,” he said.
At 56, Bustamante is still active although most of the tournaments he takes part in are money games or invites.
The 2010 world 9-ball champion Bustamante said sponsors are hard to come by these days that they have to shoulder their expenses when they travel and compete abroad.
“We don’t have sponsors for it. We basically pay for our own expenses including plane tickets and hotels” he said.
Bustamante said that he enjoys being a national team head coach with Reyes by his side.
“Me and Pareng Efren, we are the only veterans in the Billiard and Snookers Congress of the Philippines. Me, I’m going to focus on coaching our national athletes, because I know that there are becoming masters of the sport, too,” he said.