NATIONAL U Pep Squad. AUGUST DELA CRUZ
National University has captivated the crowd the last three seasons with a fascinating routine that will be hard to equal.
And with one tough rival gone, the NU Pep Squad is again augured for a repeat performance as it goes for a fourth straight title today in the UAAP Season 79 Cheerdance Competition at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The halftime cheer dancers of the NU Bulldogs will party on the floor last from among the field that has been reduced to seven member schools after the University of the Philippines Pep Squad skipped the contest.
The eight-time champion UP Pep Squad pulled out allegedly after its protest for winding up third place last year was junked by the league.
State U has instead decided to take part in the Asian Cheerleading and Dancesport Competition where it will represent the country alongside Asia’s best.
UP is the winningest UAAP team with 21 medals since the inaugural CDC was held during the 1994 season.
The appeal and excitement, however, won’t diminish one bit as perennial contender University of Santo Tomas will surely come out with something spectacular up its sleeves.
The UST Salinggawi Dance Troupe had also seized the title eight times, including five straight from 2002 to 2006.
Since then, the host school has yet to return to the apex of success with the UP Pep Squad winning five of the last nine editions.
First to carry out its routine is the De La Salle University Animo Squad before the Salinggawi Dance Troupe takes over the floor.
Following them are Ateneo de Manila University’s Blue Babble Battalion, Far Eastern University Cheering Squad, Adamson Pep Squad and the University of the East Pep Squad.