Jam with me

September 13, 2009: the date when 8 universities will battle for the 2009 Cheerdance Championship title. As always, UP and UST are the teams to look out for considering that they have been the two formidable teams in the Top 2 spot (exclude 2006 when UP placed 2nd runner up).


I travel to Manila all the way from Pampanga just to watch the much awaited UAAP Cheering Competition. It was a jampacked event where gen. ad. is filled with supporters. I actually bought a ticket for gen. ad. but it was a great thing that I and some of my friends were able to seat at the Upper Box B.

Far Eastern University (FEU) Pep Squad dethroned defending back-to-back champion University of the Philippines (UP) Pep Squad while Ateneo de Manila University's Blue Babble Battalion surprisingly came second in the 2009 UAAP Samsung Cheerdance Competition on Sunday at the jampacked Araneta Coliseum.

Using earth music and this season’s UAAP theme logo Sarimanok, the FEU Pep Squad gave the 20,000 crowd a clean and powerful performance. One of my friend told me that the FEU will change its name from FEU Tamaraws to FEU parrots. Because their image should be Tamaraws but we didn't see any Tamaraws in there. It was all parrots or FEU says it is a sarimanok.

The routine of FEU, which drew a score of 86.1 percent, was the last in the sequence of order with their crowd hoisting a banner which said “save the best for last”.

The FEU Pep Squad, who last won the Cheerdance title in 1998, took home Php 225,000.00 for besting the other seven schools. Being a supporter of my school, not FEU, I, and all of the schools, admit to it that FEU did an astonishing performance. It was well polished and well practiced. In fact after their performance, all of the schools gave them an around of applause for doing a great job.

Ateneo, meanwhile, showed a clean routine and wowed the crowd with their Moonwalk lift stunt to emerge first runner up with 83.4 percent and got Php 140,000.00. I actually didn't like their routine. It was just clean, no more no less, but the theme itself, nothing, it was zero.

UP Pep Squad disappointingly ended up second runner up after its not-so-flawless routine managed to only get 83.1 percent from the judges. They took home Php 90,000.00 for their third-best effort. Up pep squad showed the crowd another spectacular dance but seeing their major pyramid destructed, My mind immediately ponder that they will not made it to be champion for this year's cheerdance.

Surprisingly, the UST Salinggawi Dance Troupe, who has eight championships – five straight in this decade, ended up outside the top three. Watching these group dance I was alived for no previous dance step was recycled and all was unique. There were some errors but it was endured by doing a superb finishing dance steps. I was totally sad when I've heard from my ears that the Salinggawi Dance Troup didn't made it for this years' Cheering Competition.

No bitterness

The traditional powerhouse UST Salinggawi Dance Troupe was surprisingly taken out of the top three for the first time in the competition’s history.

The Egyptian-inspired routine of Salinggawi, which was capped off by a difficult human pyramid with two cheerdancers circling on top amidst fire-like banners, did not make it to the top three in the eyes of the judges.

“Prinepare ko na sarili ko for this. In every competition, there is winning and losing. I have to admit, I expected that we were to be called after UP was announced third. But as I told the team, we have to grow with this experience,” said Salinggawi choreographer Ryan Silva.

Silva was the architect of Salinggawi’s unprecedented five-peat run from 2002-2006.

“FEU came strong this year. They showed a clean routine,” Silva added.

Bitterness

UP has this portion of bitterness when a banner flashed from their crowd saying 101>400. But UP's bitterness for UST arised more and more when Ateneo was announced as 1st runner up. All of the Up's supporters were hailing FEU and not even one from UP's crowd cheered for UST. UP cheered the Let's go Tamaraw cheer before announcing the Champion while UST folks cheered their trademark Go USTe. After announcing ADMU win, the UST supporters already accepted that FEU will be the Champion for this year competition for a flawless routine. Salinggawi Dance Troup deserves a higher place than what it gets from this competition. 2011 may be a pay back time for it is the UST Quadricentennial: 400 years of Unending Grace.

LOVE

NU's love and support for UST was showed after announcing the Champion.The Yellow Jackets together with the UST supporters still hailed the GO USTe. The Salinggawi dance troup dance to the rythm of this cheer and NU pep squad showed their support for UST by also dancing into the rythm of GO USTe while any other school hailed for FEU's winning.