The University of the Philippines (UP) Pep Squad bagged their 6th cheerdance championship crown, Sunday at the 2010 UAAP Cheerdance Competition at the Araneta Coliseum. Packed with 20,950 spectators, The maroon pep squad’s triumph was sort of a redemption for UP as their Men’s and Junior’s basketball team just ended season 73 without a win (0-14). UP’s “hala-bira” classic fiesta Filipiniana-theme, featuring take-offs from the Philippines’ famous festivals: the Ati-Atihan and the Masskara Festival in Bacolod garnered 440.9 points or 88.18%. UP coach NJ Antonio has said that, “Some people were saying that we should win considering that our basketball team failed to win a single time.”
Last year’s champion, Far Eastern University (FEU) Cheering Squad who sported a Japanese-Samurai theme settles for the 1st runner up honor with 421.4 points (84.28%) despite a definite show-stopping routine. Many people even thought that FEU just had it for a back-to-back title, but they were wrong at least according to the five judges. Nevertheless, the FEU Squad under the guidance of its coach, Jacqueline Alolor vowed for a comeback next year. She says, “We accept the decision of the judges and what is important is that we were able to execute our difficult routine flawlessly. We’ll take the degree of difficulty of our stunts to another level next year. We’ll be back and try to win the championship again”.
After the surprising fourth place finish last year, perennial championship contender University of Santo Tomas (UST) Salinggawi Dance Troupe made its presence felt once more as they claimed 2nd runner up title. Their White Tiger theme earned them 407.5 points (81.50%).
UP took home Php 340,000.00 while FEU and UST got Php 200,000.00 and Php 140,000.00 respectively from the competition’s sponsor Samsung plus electronic gadgets for each member of the UP pep squad.
Ateneo’s Blue Babble Battalion, which took runner-up honors last season, fell down to fourth spot while La Salle’s Animo Squad, behind its heroism theme finished fifth. The University of the East, with a Warrior-inspired concept, placed sixth, while National University and sloppy Adamson took seventh and eighth, respectively.
The criteria were as follows: dance technique (10 points), jumps (5 points), tumbling skills (5 points), tosses (5 points), lifts/stunts (10 points), pyramids (10 points), formations (5 points), choreography (10 points), degree of difficulty (10 points), synchronization (10 points), audibility/clarity (5 points), uniform/props (5 points) and overall effectiveness (10 points).
The “UAAP Cheerdance Competition” was a hot topic in the internet and even became the No. 1 trending topic on twitter worldwide.
