FEU tops UAAP Cheerdance contest

MANILA, Philippines – The Far Eastern University Cheering Squad rocked and rolled its way to the UAAP Season 84 Cheerdance Competition championship, dethroning two-time defending champion National University Pep Squad in front of a 12,522-strong crowd at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Dancing through the iconic songs of the legendary band “Queen”, FEU rose to the throne with flawless routines and electrifying stunts for its first UAAP CDC title in 13 years.

FEU last won in 2009 but made sure to end that drought by harvesting a total of 727.5 points for its third overall title and a P50,000 grand prize. The school also won in 1998.

The cheering squad wiped the floor with its rivals, topping all the categories in dance (361.5), pyramids (91), tosses (90.5), stunts (93) and tumbling (91.5) with no penalties and deductions at all.

“I’ve been a fan of Queen and its iconic music. It feels good. Ilang taon na rin kaming runner-up, finally nakaisa rin kami,” said coach Randell San Gregorio after back-to-back bridesmaid finishes in the last two seasons before the pandemic.

One of FEU’s last routine was based on the legendary songs of Michael Jackson in 2019 before finally getting the job done through the tune of Queen this time around.

“Mahirap talaga ‘yung naging preparation (syempre under a bubble set-up amid the pandemic). Una sa lahat, we only have 15 people from 25 in a three-minute duration from six minutes. We’re happy we got over the hump. We treasure this championship,” San Gregorio added.

The UAAP tweaked the rules on the number of participants and performance duration this year in consideration of the then stricter quarantine level in the country when the decision was made to stage the CDC.

Adamson, with a country music-themed routine, finished at first runner-up with 688.5 points while NU failed to make it three CDC titles in a row at second runner-up with 681 points after its old school music-inspired performance.

Adamson and NU took home P30,000 and P20,000, respectively. Champion FEU also won the Skechers Best Performance award for an additional P40,000 prize while NU captured the Silka Awra Dance move for the similar reward.

Santo Tomas Salinggawi Dance Troupe (618), University of the East Pep Squad (592.5), University of the Philippines Pep Squad (582.5), La Salle Animo Squad (567.5) and Ateneo Blue Eagles (488.5) finished at fourth to eighth, respectively.