UP Pep Squad wows 'em anew in Cheerdance

MANILA, Philippines - It wasn’t a flawless routine but the University of the Philippines (UP) Pep Squad still outperformed its rivals to complete a “three-peat” in the UAAP Season 75 Cheerdance Competition (CDC) before a crowd of 19,509 at the MOA Arena yesterday.

Sporting shaved heads to signify freedom and equality, the UP cheerdancers cleanly executed their pyramids and stunts most of the way and although a fall marred the last stunt, their overall performance earned the nod of the judges, mostly composed of international judges, as this year’s best.

The UP Pep Squad hiked its overall collection to eight titles, tying University of Santo Tomas Salinggawi Dance Troupe (SDT) as the winningest squad in the annual competition.

“It’s basically a performance dedicated to UP. We wanted to show the other schools that we’re a free university, that we fear nothing. We even shaved our heads to show that UP students enjoy freedom,” veteran Lawrence Martin Bautista said, stressing what the number centered on as promised by assistant coach NJ Antonio in the pre-competition report by ABS-CBN’s UAAP website uaapsports.tv.

The FEU Cheering Squad, with its jungle theme, placed second while National U Pep Squad landed its first podium finish with its Disney/royal-inspired number.

The UST Salinggawi’s Brazilian-themed performance was only good for fourth, marking the second straight year they failed to make the Top 3. DLSU Animo Squad finished fifth, followed by Ateneo Blue Babble Batallion, Adamson Pep Squad and UE Pep Squad.

“We paid homage to the Oblation, which is a symbol of UP, to start our routine and we had a lot of stunts that are international level and more difficult. The international judges appreciated that,” said Bautista, whose group won bronze in the world championships in Hong Kong last November.

The mishap in the closing stages, notwithstanding, UP was confident of its chances.

“It’s a battle for perfection but we trusted that the judges saw the difficulty in our stunts and the transitions we made,” Bautista said.

“Those (mishaps) happen but we know the international judges were looking at the execution of the stunt, how difficult it was and if it was