NU Pep Squad dazzles, earns 4th straight title

MANILA, Philippines - From a narrow win the last time out, the National U Pep Squad put up a far more dazzling performance and blew away the opposition in annexing a fourth straight victory in the UAAP Cheerdance Competition before a crowd of 17,850 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last night.

The NU team performed its routine almost perfectly, captivating almost everyone in the venue and those glued on television, and ran away with the coveted crown with 711 points, over 50 points ahead of runner-up Far Eastern U.

NU lived up to its “cyborg” theme, with the NU performers precise and mechanical in its routines, dances, stunts, tosses and pyramids as they beat the field decisively.

It was a big improvement from their stunt last year where they scored 668 and barely beat the Santo Tomas Salingggawi Dance Troupe (651.5) and the State U Pep Squad (610.5).

They made sure they wowed just everybody else this time, leaving the rest to fight for runner-up honors.

“This is one of the sweetest. It’s a good comeback after that very controversial routine and victory last year,” said Ghika Bernabe.

NU manager Jun Gaw said he’s proud of his team’s feat.

He said: “They did a good job and showed determination.”

The Far Eastern U Cheering Squad took second place on its Broadway-themed routine that drew 658.5 points.

It’s a fourth podium finish for the FEU team.

Adamson, meanwhile, strutted a Hawaiian-styled stuff and grabbed third-place honors with 655 points – a first medal finish for the San Marcelino-based school in 15 years.

So dominant was NU that it raked in all awards – pyramid, toss and group stunts.

All in all, NU went home with a total purse worth P440,000 including P340,000 for topping the main event.

NU was just simply a cut above the rest.

Curiously, there’s a big drop in gate attendance with a little over 18,000 showing this time from a record 25,388 last year. It’s most probably because of the absence of State U.

The Santo Tomas Salinggawi Dance Troupe, the league’s eight-time winner, missed a podium finish, settling for fourth place with 650 after stunts marred by ugly falls.

University of the East finished fifth with 645 while La Salle and Ateneo finished sixth and seventh with 560.5 and 512, respectively.

The NU coach said they made a drastic change in just everything in their performance.

“This is different from the previous year. We changed the sequence. We had a pattern and mixed it up,” she said.