Perpetual U, UP fancied in Filoil Cup cheerleading

MANILA, Philippines - Perpetual University and University of the Philippines loom as the teams to beat in the Filoil Flying V Pre-Season Basketball Invitational Cup cheerleading competition Saturday at the Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.

The Perps, NCAA grandslam winner from 2005, won last year’s cheerleading contest in the Filoil Flying V Cup, regaining the title it yielded to JRU in 2008.

They are again expected to vie for the title and the P150,000 cash prize in this premier pre-season tournament presented by Mighty Bond Extreme, with major sponsors Filoil, Flying V, Total Phils., Inc., San Marino and Hanes, the official outfitter.

The second-best team will win P100,000 while the third placer gets P50,000.

But the Perps will have their hands full against another former grandslam winner in University of the Philippines (2005-2008), and Far Eastern University, which beat UP for the UAAP crown last year.

Also in the fold are JRU, perennial contender University of Sto. Tomas, La Salle and Emilio Aquinaldo College, a surprise third-placer in the NCAA last year.

The Perps finished only third in the recent National Cheerleading Competition behind Central Colleges of the Philippines and University of Cordillera.

Nine teams from the UAAP and seven from NCAA are competing in the event sponsored by CDO and backed by Adidas, Bayo, Jimm’s Coffee, Kaspersky, Zest Air and Gourmet Coffee.

According to Regin Carlos Tambo-ong, chief organizer of the event, the top eight teams after the eliminations will advance to the finals on June 12.

“The eliminations require teams to perform simple cheerleading routines, while the one-day finals will be more technical,” said Tampo-ong, one of three judges during the elims, alongside a representative from CDO and the organizing Filoil Flying V.

Five professional judges will be tapped during the finals.

Tambo-ong said 30 percent of the total score of the teams in the eliminations and 70 percent of the scores in the finals will be added to determine the winners.

Tickets for both the cheerleading contest and the basketball games are available through Ticketnet at 911-5555.