Submitted by Romina S. Austria
At 22, Django was pitted against Parica, Bata, Leonardo Andam and Rodolfo Luat. His first major tournament, the San Miguel World 9-ball Open, was held in Manila in 1988. With competition from Europe, the US and Japan, he made it to the finals but lost to Amang.
In 1990, a Germany-based Filipino invited Django to compete. He impressed an Indonesian who owns a billiard hall that he was invited to work there as its resident pro. Two years later, he won the Munich Masters over his friend Mike Lebron.
Django shuttles regularly between Germany and Manila and speaks good German.
The US Professional Billiards tour was his next stop in 1992. In 1993, he beat Strickland in the Bicycle Club Casino finals, earning him a slot in America’s Top 10 for the next two years.
Django won twice in the eight-leg Camel Pro Billiard Series in 1997 as he moved up to No. 3 in the US circuit. Japan tournaments saw more of Django beginning in 1991. He topped the Japan Open, 10 years after winning the same event.
Django is reserved. He barely smiles, especially while competing. He relaxes by watching a movie with wife Mila and son Jun-jun. He walks briskly twice a week to keep fit. Sleep is important, especially before a competition.
While competing in the World Championships in Cardiff, Wales, his seven-month-old daughter Mariel died. For two nights before the finals, which he lost to Strickland, Django could do nothing but cry.
“ I wanted to be a world champion. That would be a great feeling for my family and the country,” he said. “I came two racks short of the win, but I could not concentrate. I kept thinking of my daughter. I wanted to get it over and done with and see her.”
From the airport, Django went straight to the funeral. He broke down upon seeing the lifeless body of the little girl he and his wife had waited for for seven years.
But his Asian Games victory gave him a new kind of high. “It was overwhelming. The pressure was bigger because the whole nation was behind you.”
He dedicated the victory to Mariel, adding, “With the Asian Games, you play for the country. I wasn’t thinking of my opponents. At the back of my mind was my country which I shouldn’t fail.”
Django has not forgotten his humble beginnings. He mingles with his fellow Tarlaqueños.
He said, “Poverty should never deter people from achieving what they want in life. I used to be a nobody. I’d like to think I still am a nobody. But I can proudly say that I beat the odds and got to where I want to be.
