Photo by Mario T. Dagdag
The Ateneo Blue Babble Battalion placed 6th overall in the UAAP Cheerdance Competition (CDC) held in the Mall of Asia Arena on Saturday, September 22. The University of the Philippines (UP) Pep Squad clinched their third straight title while the Far Eastern University (FEU) Cheering Squad and National University (NU) were first and second runners-up, respectively.
“Perennial Three” schools UP and FEU maintain their prowess in the CDC while NU broke into the top three for the first time.
The competition was intense this year as all squads upped the ante of their routines. The themes of each squad, which drew mixed reactions from fans, contributed to the diversity of the CDC.
The Blue Babble Battalion amused the crowd with their animé-themed routine—sporting leather costumes, masks, old-school Japanese animation music and a Voltes V replica. The Battalion ran a clean routine that featured more complex pyramids, highlighted with a round-off-backhandspring-to-layout rewind entry into a 2-2-1 pyramid.
The team is thankful as this is their best run to date, especially since one of their strongest lifters, George Santos, suffered an MCL injury only two days ago. This loss forced the team to change the routine the day before the competition.
Head Coach Randell San Gregorio praised his team’s performance. “I’m really thankful because the members stood up and really saved the stunts meant for [George] and we found a way around it. I couldn’t be prouder of them considering the struggles we’ve had for the past days,” shared San Gregorio.
The Voltes V replica was a product of the team’s resourcefulness as they made and funded for it themselves.
The UP Pep Squad nabbed their eighth overall title with their “freedom” themed routine. For this theme, every member of the squad emerged from the dugouts with proudly-shaven heads. “It’s about UP. About the Oblation. The Oblation is a symbol of knowledge and, yes, freedom. From fear and freedom of expression. We took that concept to express who we really are. Who UP is,” shared NJ Antonio, UP’s assistant coach.
Aside from the shock factor, UP impressed the audiences with a rotating 1-1-1 pyramid with the top flyer in a scorpion, high-flying stunts with quick transitions and, of course, their showmanship. A major fall from another 1-1-1 pyramid for their finale scared the squad’s championship hopes, but UP was confident that their entire routine already spoke volumes.
“We’re thinking that the first part justified the routine over that one fall,” pointed out Antonio. But when asked what he would have done differently, he says, “Nothing. We love the routine.”
Meanwhile, the FEU Cheering Squad maintained their place in the top three, but this time they moved up to first runner-up. The green and yellow executed a routine with a theme of “the wild,” which not only complemented their uniforms, but their “animalia” dances, as well. FEU moved perfectly in sync with each other and their accompanying tribal music.
FEU impressed the spectators by opening with high-altitude tosses and multiple transitions between stunts, like the Swedish fall pyramid switch into flatback. Another highlight of their performance was the set of switch-kick tosses. It was a very close call between the UP Pep and FEU, but assistant coach Peter Padilla states that he was “Very happy. I’m very proud of my team. We’re the champions in our hearts.”
If the De La Salle Pep Squad finished with an underdog’s victory in Season 74, host school NU surmounted the position this year with their royalty-themed performance. Their gilded costumes lent gaiety to their performance as they executed rewind entries into one-man lifts, toe-touch pitch into 1-1-1 pyramids and a scorpion to needle liberty, which showcased their flyers’ flexibility.
It was the first time the Bulldogs have gained a seat in the top three, although last year they placed third in the group stunts category. Coach Ghicka Bernabe was elated with the team’s unexpected win. “Even if we weren’t the champions, we felt like we were,” Bernabe shared.
Bernabe also spoke adamantly about defending the title, saying, “Kung di man kami nag first ngayon, kung ano man yung hahanap-hanapin ng audience at kung ano yung hahanap-hanapin ng judges, ibibigay na namin. Hindi na namin papakawalan to, simula na to nung taon namin (Although we did not place first this year, next time we will give whatever the audience and the judges are looking for. We are not going to let go, this year is just the beginning for us.).”
Despite the obvious confidence in their routine themed “Brasil”, the UST Salinggawi Dance Troupe fell to the 4th spot, while the De La Salle Pep Squad took 5th with their “knockout” moves. The Battalion took 6th, Adamson University got 7th moving to K-Pop tunes and University of the East finished last with their “Olympian” routine.
This year’s roster of judges were of international credibility: Jana Eftimiu, Women’s Gymnastics Coach of Onesti, Romania; Julien Leblond, President of the Indonesian Cheerleading Community; Yu Chun Huang, Chinese-Taipei Cheerleading Federation president; Joe Jackson, the U.S. All-Star Federation judge for legality and safety and Manuel Malonzo, the associate director of Chameleon Dance Theater.
The judging criteria was originally set at a total of 100 points. Dance technique would garner 10-20 points. Tosses, stunts, jumps and tumbling, and pyramids each were worth 10-15 points per segment. Choreography and synchronization were 6-10 points worth and cheer audibility and audience participation each would give 3-5 points. Minor errors would cost one point and major errors five.
During the announcement of winners, however, the scoring system was removed and replaced with a “ranking” system wherein each judge would give their place preference and the winners would be decided upon which teams were ranked most in all the judges’ top three. The reason for the mid-competition change in rules was not explained by the UAAP.
