NAASCU cheer dance on at RMSC

MANILA, Philippines - Centro Escolar University guns for back-to-back victory as the National Athletic Association of Schools, Colleges, and Universities (NAASCU) holds its cheer dance competition today at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.

The Scorpions will be bannered by members of the national squad that finished third in last month’s sixth Cheerleading World Championships in Hong Kong.

Fifteen CEU students comprised the team headed by multi-titled University of the Philippines Pep Squad and Polytechnic University of the Philippines. It finished third in the Cheer Mixed category behind Japan and Thailand.

“Being a part of the Philippine team and competing against the best pep squads in the world was a great experience for the school,” said NAASCU treasurer Juanita Alamillo of CEU.

“Hopefully, we’ll be able to maintain the rank as champions for the second straight year,” she added.

Saint Clare, STI College, Informatics International College, City University of Pasay, New Era University, AMA Computer University, and Our Lady of Fatima University are the seven school teams out to deny the Scorpions a second straight cheer dance title and third overall.

Alamillo added that criteria for judging are techniques (50 percent), pyramid difficulty (20 percent), and synchronization/choreography (30 percent).

Trophies will be awarded to the winners of the competition – now on its sixth year – that starts at 9 a.m.

The cheerdance competition ushers action in the second semester of the league’s 11th season. Other events on tap are swimming, chess, table tennis, taekwondo, and volleyball.

Theme for this year is “Soaring To Greater Heights.”