UAAP Cheerdance: Animo Squad stays in sixth place as NU grabs third straight title

For the second consecutive year, the DLSU Animo Squad saw their podium aspirations crumble to dust as they once again finished in sixth place at the 2015 UAAP Cheerdance Competition (CDC) held last Saturday, October 3, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

The Taft-based pep squad had a score of 538.5, almost 50 points behind fifth place UE who had 583 points and 25 points ahead of seventh place Adamson, who finished with 513.5 in the competition.

The NU Pep Squad,who performed with a prehistoric-inspired theme, won their third straight title in the annual competition, getting a total score of 668 points from the judges. The UST Salinggawi Dance Troupe took second place with their African-inspired performance, garnering a score of 651.5 points. Coming in at third were Season 78 hosts UP, who got 610.5 points in total.

FEU, UE, DLSU, Adamson, and Ateneo completed the rankings, placing in the fourth to eighth places, respectively.

In the group stunts competition, UST brought home the gold medal after an outstanding performance. NU finished in second place while last year’s champion FEU bagged the bronze medal in the contest. Only six teams took part in this event, with UE and Ateneo opting not to send in any representatives.

Festivities opened with each courtside reporter pumping up their respective school’s fans. Afterwards, host Boom Gonzales introduced this year’s co-host, who turned out to be Forevermore star Sofia Andres. They delivered a brief introduction on the competition before the performances commenced.

The UP pep squad started the contest with a heart-themed showing, setting the bar for the rest of the competition. The Animo Squad came in next with a rock star get-up, dazzling the crowd with their blonde hair and edgy dance moves. The third performers were Ateneo’s Blue Babble Battalion who came in with their spy-inspired costumes.

The defending champions were the fourth team to present. True to form, NU had several daring stunts while clad in their cavemen uniforms. UE took the stage after them with their carnival-themed performance. Up next was Adamson with their own high flying acts. Magic was the name of the game as FEU entered the center stage as the seventh performer. Last but not the least, UST concluded the show with a cheer dance that had the essence of a tribal dance.

Several other awards were given to teams that presented the best moves in their routines. Sponsors such as PLDT, Oishi, and Yamaha gave out cash prizes and merchandise to the award winners.