Grace under pressure

UST’s Salinggawi Cheering Team, proudly wearing their LA Gear of gold, yellow and black outfits tossed, turned, twisted and twirled in unison to an eclectic mix of music, mesmerizing an appreciative throng at the Araneta Coliseum. They cavorted through hip-hop, glided into ballet, jumped with jazz, and did good old lusty cheerleading.

Like a pack of frenzied tigers (complete with stiffened ears in their hoods and painted whiskers on their faces), they performed to the tune of Legs, legs, legs mo ay nakakasilaw, and growled to the thunderous drum beat of Go Uste by the Yellow Jackets. Not once did they rest on their laurels as last year’s title holder.

When the dust of UAAP Season 66’s Nestle Cheerdance Competition settled, they had literally and figuratively climbed the pinnacle of the pyramid, defeated their mighty opponents and were declared Number One.

LA Gear, the sponsoring company of the fearless Salinggawi, carried the day for the team, who did not have any sponsor last year.

"We believe in the ferocious determination of this team, as well as in their prodigious talent," explained Thomas Lim, an alumnus of the College of Engineering who is also a top official of LA Gear. "We recognize the heart of a champion in this team, and we are proud they carried our logo in the competition," he adds.

Teddy Pereña of TEAM Inc., one of the team managers of the Senior Men’s Basketball team, led the search for a sponsor who will carry the torch for the cheering team this season.

LA Gear footed the bill for the costumes, jackets, bags and shoes for the Salinggawi. As a token of the company’s jubilation for this victory, LA Gear gave bonuses for the team’s 35 members and hosted a victory party in the gimmick center of Makati, Glorietta.

Channel 23’s emcees for the sidelight of UAAP gave a very telling clue before they announced the first prize winner in the Big Dome: guardians of tradition – a very apt accolade for Salinggawi (acronym for Salin ng mga dating Gawi at Lahi which means transfer of customs and tradition).

The group was founded in 1968 as the cultural group of the University of Sto. Tomas. Through the years, it has dabbled not only in dancing, but also in the broader arena of the performing arts with scriptwriting, stage production and costume design integrated in their rigorous discipline.

Ermita Basilio, former directress of the women’s section of UST’s then Physical Education Department, and an authority on Philippine folk dance, together with other dance instructors, transcribed ethnic dances and interpreted these into unique presentations which became the trademark of Salinggawi.

When the cheering competition was appended to the UAAP’s program, Salinggawi stepped up to fulfill the need for a cheering team.

Salinggawi’s Adviser for eight years now, UST’s Institute of Physical Education and Athletics (IPEA) instructor Edna Sanchez, beamed with pride as she recounted the group’s track record.

"We have carried UST’s name even in national competitions and won the hearts of our audiences with our unique brand of dancing and cheering," she explained.

She also recalled the cloak and dagger operation they had to resort to while rehearsing their piece before the competition. "There were spies and scouts we had to dodge to keep the integrity of our moves and sequences," she said with a laugh.

She is grateful for the support of her colleagues in other team events for sharing the gym with her team and for LA Gear’s generous contributions to defray their expenses.

Felicitas Francisco, director of IPEA, treasures the numerous trophies and plaques Salinggawi has brought to UST and proudly showcases them in her office. A perennial presence in the UST side during all bouts of the UST Growling Tigers for whom the Salinggawi cheers during half-time break, Mrs. F, as she is fondly called, combines the qualities of a mother and a taskmaster.

The team has etched its name in stone in the hollowed grounds of the pontifical university since it won three consecutive championships in the UAAP’s cheering competition from 1995-1997. The following year, it was heralded champion of the First Lipton Cheering Competition for the same premiere league.

But happiest of all (though he may pretend not to show it) is IPEA Director/Regent, Fr. Ermito de Sagon, OP. This low-profile Dominican, the wind beneath the wings of the Salinggawi, can only fold his hands in grateful prayer for the team’s success.

"Like the rest of the athletic teams of UST, Salinggawi has to surmount many difficulties, and in true Thomasian spirit, overcome the odds," this professor of Philosophy and keeper of the Olympic flame in UST expounded.

Salin ng mga Dating Gawi at Lahi is keeping its covenant with the long and glorious tradition of UST in the humanities and the arts, and completing a pact with the trend-setting proposition of LA Gear in the global village. It will always look back to its beginning as a cultural troupe and move forward as a dance-cheer icon. Both ways, it is fulfilling its gift of maintaining grace under pressure.