MANILA, Philippines—The UAAP Cheerdance Competition is a universe all to its own. On a cool Sunday afternoon, the UP Pep Squad was once again its center.
In front of a loud and boisterous crowd of 20,950 that ended up paying homage to it by chanting its iconic cheer in unison, the UP Pep Squad captured the prestigious cheerdance tilt to help the Diliman-based State U forget the events that took place in an alternate reality.
The Pep Squad’s victory came a day after UP’s Fighting Maroons capped its UAAP basketball run with a heartbreaking 0-14 slate. But while the victory was billed as something that gave UP something to finally cheer for, the Pep Squad went one-up with their performance, determined to put on a dominating display of cheerdance prowess.
“We made sure that it would be very festive, right from our entrance,” said UP team captain Ara Abarquez, whose team bagged the P300,000 grand prize.
Rebounding from last year’s third-place finish, the UP Pep Squad showcased a colorful, Filipino fiesta-themed routine to clinch its sixth crown with a cumulative score of 440.9 points.
More through the score, though, the UP Pep Squad stamped its dominance by holding its competitors in awe.
Inquirer Sports reported that by the end of the event, supporters of the other schools—including those from fierce rival University of Santo Tomas—were chanting “U-nibersidad ng Pilipinas!”
Last season’s champion Far Eastern University settled for a runner-up finish with 421.4 points, while UST’s Salinggawi Dance Troupe wound up third with 407.5 points after getting shut out of the top three for the first time last year.
Filipino cheerdance fans also came in full force on the online social networks as the “UAAP Cheerdance Competition” emerged as the No. 1 trending topic worldwide on Twitter starting yesterday afternoon.
Several UAAP member schools also became trending topics.
UP infused its flawless dance and gymnastic moves with touches of Filipino fiestas, such as the colorful masks from Bacolod City’s Masskara Festival and the sunflower pom-poms inspired by Baguio City’s Panagbenga Festival.
“As a team, we didn’t think of winning the crown,” said UP assistant coach Pio Opinaldo, whose squad now has six cheerdance titles. “We just wanted a perfect run in the competition. We thought that whatever happens after was a bonus.”
“The Filipino theme has always been a tradition of UP and even our cheers are in Tagalog,” said Dr. Leilani Gonzalo, UP’s representative to the UAAP board.
The FEU Cheering Squad presented a number inspired by the Japanese samurai, while the UST Salinggawi Dance Troupe focused on the team’s Tiger moniker.
“For me, my team is still the champion because we had a flawless routine,” said FEU coach Jaqueline Alolor.
“To be back in the top three, that’s already a big achievement for us,” said coach Ryan Silva, whose Salinggawi owns a record eight titles.
Last year’s runner-up Ateneo dropped to fourth, followed by La Salle, University of the East, National University and Adamson.
Javier Beren, the technical director of the Pilipinas Cheerleading Federation, headed the five-man judging panel.
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