Cheers to a balanced field in UAAP cheerdance

MANILA, Philippines - The keenly awaited UAAP Season 76 Cheerdance competitions will be held Sunday at the MOA Arena with all eight schools out to outshine one another with never-before-seen routines in what promises to be the fiercest battle in years.

“This is going to be a close fight. Everybody wants to outperform one another,” said Jacqueline Alota, head coach of the FEU Tamaraws Pep Squad that finished first runner-up last year.

Alota said all teams have a good shot at the title, which only FEU, UP and UST have won since the UAAP Cheerdance competitions began in 1994.

Lala Perena, coach of four-peat-seeking UP, admits the Maroons will be hard-pressed to defend the crown, but vows to outdo themselves and snare their ninth crown, the most in the tournament.

“The competition has become tougher the last few years,” said Perena. “Everyone’s upgrading their level. For me, all schools are the teams to beat. Everyone’s out to get us. I expect all teams to dish out their very best.”

Perena and Alota, however, pick the NU Bulldogs Pep Squad as the biggest threat to their respective title bids.

The Sampaloc-based NU squad placed sixth in 2011 but came back strong to finish runner-up last year.

Just last March, the NU Pep Squad dominated the National Cheerleading Championship (NCC), even beating FEU.

“NU has become so aggressive. They have the budget, they have the money,” said Alota. “They recruited top gymnasts from the last two Palarong Pambansa, that’s why they have the versatility. But we’ll be there fighting.”

Perena, for her part, stressed that a winning routine in the UAAP tournament will still rest on each school’s performance and execution.

“They may have recruited all the best gymnasts, but it will all boil down to the overall performance of the team,” said Perena, whose squad skipped the last NCC tournament.

Meanwhile, NU coach Ghicka Bernabe said they don’t feel the pressure and remain focused on the task at hand.

“There’s no pressure, we just want to keep on improving,” said Bernabe, a former FEU Pep Squad member.