THE ATENEO Blue Babble Battalion never expected to take home any delicious prize from their first appearance in the FilOil Flying V Cheerleading Competition on June 12 at the San Juan Arena, and yet they did—embossed glass plaque, giant check and all. The Sixth Man’s cheerdancers and lifters walked away with the secondrunner-up trophy and a check worth P40,000.
The University of Perpetual Help System Dalta (UPHSD) Altas won the championship and the Arellano University ChiefSquad took first runner-up honors. De La Salle University and University of the East also tried their luck at the preseason competition.
While the Altas came out as the victor with a total of 387 points, the ChiefSquad and the Blue Babble Battalion scuffled closely with scores of 332 and 330.3 respectively. The total tally was based on a criterion of different elements such as dance, tosses, tumbling, pyramids and partner stunts. Points were deducted from the final scores of the teams if errors were committed in the execution of their respective routines.
Donning their customary maroon, gold and white, UPHSD bore a champion team’s demeanor right when they set foot on the mats. Their confidence shone as they showcased a fast-paced routine and high-flying, full-twisting tosses performed to perfection that held the audience rapt from start to finish. Ultimately, their snappy execution and the degree of difficulty of their stunts garnered them the highest points.
With a similarly difficult routine, Arellano threw out soaring tosses and their tight tumbling passes turned the scoring tide in their favor. Although they missed out on sleek execution and carried out some stunts a little sloppier than expected, the team clad in red and blue clinched the first runner-up spot with the level of difficulty of their routine.
Whereas the Altas climbed up a notch from their runner-up spot last year, defending champions De La Salle stooped to fourth place due to some major falls in an otherwise skillful routine, had it been performed to a T. Last year’s second runner-up Adamson University did not compete this year; the Blue Babble Battalion took their rank.
The Ateneo’s own cheerdancers and lifters served up a routine that was sharp, clean and bursting with energy. Ateneo danced to Donna Summer’s “Last Dance,” which mirrored the passion of the team on the floor. The highlight of their routine was their pyramid sequence, which included third-level stunts like the flatback and the Swedish fall with a twist dismount.
Cheerdancers’ captains Desiree Fadri and Bea Crisologo both expressed how much they’ve been bent on doing well in the performance. Fadri says, “It’s most fun when you see the whole team work hard together.” Crisologo adds, “We had so many struggles with the pyramid for this routine. Eventually, we [executed] it perfectly.”
Yet, they couldn’t have it all; the blue and white suffered some deductions with one major fall and another in one tumbling instance.
In the end, the Blue Babble Battalion emerged as winners despite others’ expectations. The podium finish was a well-welcomed one, especially since it was unexpected. The team originally joined the competition to provide an avenue for their many rookies to gain experience and be under the spotlight. This would help the team shake off “first big competition” jitters in preparation for UAAP Cheerdance Competition (CDC).
“It’s always [the] UAAP and NCC,” said lifters c0-captain John Simbajon. “What we’re doing now is we’re trying to prepare ourselves to be able to perform in front of a huge crowd.”
Lifters co-captain Laurence Arceño likens their joining the competition to a tune-up game, saying, “We have a lot of new blood this year, we have a lot to improve on, and we have lost a lot of players too. We really need this boost for the UAAP.”
Coach Randell San Gregorio believes that joining this mid-year competition is a solution to the long-time predicament of the Blue Babble Battalion: the constant flux of outgoing and incoming players—many of which only learn real gymnastic skills in college—that has held back the team almost every year at the UAAP CDC. “The only way for first-timers to endure the pressure better is to perform.”
What made the experience better was the pleasant surprise of a podium finish. San Gregorio shares how they only really aimed for their best run, and that he never put pressure on the team to place. “I want us to win, but that’s not our goal,” he tells the team minutes before their turn on the court. “Ang gusto natin ay tumapang ang loob niyo.” (“What we want is to toughen up the team.”)
Asked what to expect this coming UAAP, San Gregorio is in high spirits for the near future. “From what happened tonight, expect a better Ateneo Blue Babble Battalion [this year],” he says.
