THERE IS no podium finish for the UST Salinggawi Dance Troupe this year as it only managed to land fifth place with its nostalgic-themed performance during the UAAP Season 87 cheerdance competition at the Mall of Asia Arena on Sunday, Dec. 1.
After securing bronze in back-to-back years, Salinggawi landed below third place for the first time in four years.
The Thomasian dance troupe received 634.5 points for its Batang 90s-themed routine that featured Filipino primary school uniforms, lunch boxes and giant slippers.
“Regardless of whatever would happen, it’s not easy to get to this point… especially for the culture in UST… it’s really hard,” UST head coach Mark Chaiwalla told The Flame.
“But, we really have to try not to sugarcoat things, especially when it comes to errors,” he added.
Salinggawi remained at the middle of the pack in the five scoring categories. It ranked fourth in tumbling (69.5 points) and tosses (77 points), while it placed fifth in stunts (74 points) and dance (347 points). UST had the fourth-least penalties with 11 points.
The NU Pep Squad reclaimed the cheerdance crown and vacuumed up all the special awards, obtaining 713 points as it defied gravity with an outer space-themed performance. This title puts NU in a three-way tie with UST and UP for the most number of championships at eight.
NU dominated across the board, topping all scoring categories. It had nine deduction points.
Adamson Pep Squad bagged silver with 679.5 points as it grooved to a medley of karaoke hit songs. Last year’s champion FEU Cheering Squad closed out the podium with 650 points behind an act inspired by the animated film “Frozen.”
UE Pep Squad climbed up two places to fourth after paying homage to the iconic Filipino girl group SexBomb Girls (641 points). UP Varsity Pep Squad slipped from fifth to sixth place with its summer number (560 points).
The bottom two slots were unchanged from last season, with the DLSU Animo Squad placing seventh with its chess-themed performance (525 points) and the Ateneo Blue Babble Battalion finishing last with “big bang” narrative (490 points).
This is Salinggawi’s lowest placement since Chaiwalla started coaching in 2017.
“I wouldn’t lie, I feel a bit low-spirited at the moment… I mean, that’s it, you’ve done your best,” Chaiwalla said.
“You have no choice but to move forward, learn, push yourself to be stronger.” F – with reports from Mc Neil Zyh Serrano
