Filipinos excel in the "Olympics of Cheerleading"

The NU Pep Squad snagging bronze at the ICU Cheerleading World Championships

After making a splash in the local cheerdance scene by snagging the last two UAAP CDC titles, the National University Pep Squad impressed at the International Cheer Union (ICU) World Cheerleading Championships, held last April 23-24 at Disney World in Orlando, Florida.

Considered as the premier cheerleading competition in the world, 70 countries, including the Philippines, sent delegates to participate in eight different divisions. Gabriel Bajacan (NU Pep coach), in fact, believes that the ICU WCC is "its version of the Olympics for cheerleading".

Armed with just over two months of preparation, NU Pep managed to finish in third place at the Coed Elite Division, with their "bone-bending gymnastics" and a routine laced with a high degree of difficulty, that impressed their peers, including US coach Joe Jackson (best known as the stunt choreographer for "Bring It On").

Only Mexico and Chile had a better performance than the Pinoys, something that NCC National Director and Philippine Cheerleading Association Vice President Paula Nunag views as a victory for Asia. She adds that participating in the ICU CWC is "the dream of every single Filipino cheerleader."

NU Pep Team Manager Jun Gaw is thankful for the experience, knowing that they "gave it their all and did their best." He adds...

They showed that the Philippines is a competitor to keep an eye on in the world of cheerleading. They were against powerhouse teams some of whom were veteran world champions. These teams were composed of handpicked cheerleaders selected to represent their respective national all-star teams. On the other hand, the Team Pilipinas National University Pep Squad, a university-based team, consists of athletes who are newcomers to the sport and who have had to build their skills from scratch. They are the underdogs here, and have taken the cheerleading world by surprise.

NU academic coordinator for athletes, Ms. Clara Manzano-Lacson, also expressed her pride with the squad...

"It is our aim in NU to balance the academic and athletic talents and skills of our students, and the NU Pep Squad has always been good at doing this. They manage their schooling and practices well. The NU cheerleaders are world champion medalists and we could not be more proud of them. We know that through our customized program, which looks out for the welfare of our athletes, NU’s Teams will continue to succeed both locally and abroad."

The efforts of the NU Pep Squad at ICU CWC is the latest success story of the SM Group's academic-athletics program in national and international competitions. Concurrent NU Chairman and SM Prime Holdings, Inc. President Hans Sy has personally provided words of encouragement towards the student-athletes, as well as the coaches and managers, in ensuring an environment that can hone their skills, talents, and capacities.


Also snagging awards in the ICU CWC are Miriam High School's Team Sayawatha with their bronze  in the Team Cheer Hip Hop Division, while an all-star group of Pinay cheerleaders joined forces in the All-Girl Elite Division to finish second to New Zealand.

Jimmy Alapag statement on Ivan Johnson

On Monday night, recently-retired point guard and newly-minted Talk N' Text manager Jimmy Alapag decided to release a statement regarding their import, Ivan Johnson. Sports Desk's Cesca Litton posted the statement (broken into two parts) on her Instagram account. We have decided to copy that and place it within one post.

There is no room in the game of basketball for making degrading, or racial comments towards any player / coach. It's not good for the game, and more importantly our youth who watch and support the PBA and dream one day to be a part of it. Physicality and emotion is part of the game, especially in a finals series, but the contact and remarks, specifically aimed at Ivan Johnson, have been uncalled for. He's been a consummate pro as a member of the Talk N' Text team from Day 1, despite many who continually try to bring up his past.

He's a good husband, a loving father to his boys, and a hardworking teammate who stands up for his brothers. He's kept his temper in check, despite being provoked at every opportunity during games. As professionals, there is always a fine line between competitiveness and sportsmanship, but those lines have been crossed in this series. We have a responsibility as professionals to do our best to uplift the game. When we do otherwise the essence of this game suffers. We owe it to the true fans to showcase our skills and talent, nothing more.

Here are the two IG posts from Cesca that contained the statement:

Official statement of Talk n' Text team manager, Jimmy Alapag. Part 1.

A photo posted by Cesca Litton (@checklit) on Apr 27, 2015 at 8:04am PDT

Official statement of Talk n' Text team manager, Jimmy Alapag. Part 2.

A photo posted by Cesca Litton (@checklit) on Apr 27, 2015 at 8:04am PDT

AFC Cup pre-match Press Conference: Global FC vs Yadanarbon FC

Global FC vs Yadanarbon FC. 8pm at the Philippine Stadium in Bocaue. Tickets are still available at the gate.

UAAP Season 77 Closing Ceremonies tomorrow

To put a bow on its 77th season, the UAAP is slated to have its Closing Ceremonies on Saturday, April 11, at the UE Theater, inside the University of the East campus in Recto Manila.

Set at 5pm. the event is set to highlight the outstanding performing athletes of the season, with the UAAP Athlete of the Year for men, women, and high school to be selected among the different MVPs in all fifteen sports.

The league is also to recognize student-athletes with outstanding academic records to complement their athletic feats: badminton's Mikaela Aquino (Adamson), swimmer Axel Ngui (Ateneo), table tennis star Jerald Cristobal (La Salle), volleybelle Tin Agno (FEU), basketball player Kristine Abriam (NU), fencer Nathaniel Perez (UE), poomsae specialist Dustin Mella (UP), and sprinter Eloisa Luzon (UST).

In addition, the UAAP is to cite all winners of the Rookie of Year in the different events, as well as its athletes that participated in overseas competitions. It will also fete the University of Santo Tomas for clinching the general championship in both the college and high school levels.

The Growling Tigers ended La Salle's hopes for a three-peat by just four points to snag its 40th overall crown, while the Tiger Cubs beat out the hosts by six points to claim their 16th overall crown.

Capping off the event is the turnover ceremonies, in which Season 77 president Carmelita Mateo will hand over the UAAP flag to Season 78 president Dr. Michael Tan of the University of the Philippines. Tan will give an acceptance speech to coincide with the ceremony.

SM Cinema to showcase Floyd vs Manny

The highly anticipated "Fight of the Century" gets the movie treatment.

SM Cinemas and Walter Mart Cinemas nationwide will be showing the "Battle For Greatness: Floyd Mayweather vs Manny Pacquiao" via pay-per-view on the morning of May 3.

SM Lifestyle Entertainment, Inc. strongly advocates the development of the Filipino talent through sports, according to its President, Edgar Tejerero. He believes that Pacquiao "is truly one of the greatest Filipino sporting icons who inspires us to believe that we, as Filipinos, can do anything we set our minds to."

Tejerero adds that SMLEI is willing to dedicate ALL theaters, if need be, to be able to accommodate fight fans who want to partake of arguably the biggest sporting event in Philippine history. In addition, the MOA Arena is to schedule a viewing event for the fight, although no details for this one have been made public.

Tickets for the PPV are already available since March 27. Prices are dependent per venue, with the minimum being at PhP 600. IMAX theaters are twice as much, costing 1,200. Those who avail of purchasing tickets early will get a free t-shirt, while e-PLUS cardholders will get a complimentary ticket as well if they use it to purchase tickets to the fight. In addition, those who buy tickets at the SM Cinema at the Light Mall or at all the Directors Club Cinema branches can also include the option of adding a buffet meal into their ticket purchase.

Fans can also purchase tickets online via www.smcinema.com or www.smtickets.com.

Adamson claims five straight in softball

Adamson nabbed its fifth straight UAAP softball title at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium.

The softbelles of Ana Santiago secured the school's only UAAP title this season with a 10-0 smashing of the University of the Philippines in Game 2 of the Finals, extending their winning streak to a gaudy 62 matches.

Annalie Benjamen stood tall once again in the win, allowing just three hits in the shutout, on her way to being named as the MVP for the second straight year. Not only was she stellar on the mound, but also on the plate, snagging the Best Hitter award and sharing the Most RBIs award with teammate Gelyn Lamata. The Bacolod native says that this was the fruit of their hard work.

Other Adamson softbelles include Lorna Adorable (Most Stolen Bases), Florabelle Pabiana (Rookie of the Year), and Queeny Sabobo (co-Most Home Runs winner alongside Cristy Joy Roa of UST)

Santiago shares that this championship is the fruit of their training, showcasing the team's will to win. She also gave credit to the Maroon softbelles, who forced them to play all seven innings in both finals games.

"UP is a strong team. Hanga ako sa kanila, marami silang rookie, pero hindi sila bumitaw. Mga fighter ang mga yan. Ang sabi ko sa mga bata, if we want to win, kung anong lakas meron ang kalaban, higitan natin. If we want to be the winner, we have to play like a winner," said Santiago.

This had been UP's first finals since 2011.

Adamson seeking to clinch UAAP softball title today

Game today at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium: 9 a.m. – UP vs Adamson (Game 2 of softball finals)

Adamson University can claim its fifth straight championship in UAAP softball later this morning, if they win Game 2 of their finals matchup against the University of the Philippines at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium.

Fresh from their 6-0 victory on Tuesday, the softbelles from San Marcelino are now on a 61-match winning streak, although head coach Ana Santiago foresees some adjustments will have to be made in order to extend the streak to 62.

Santiago believes that the team needs to play at a higher level to claim the school's 14th crown in this sport, and at the same time, prevent UP from having any possible headway. Her Diliman counterpart, Kiko Diaz, believes that they "will bounce back," and to do so will need to take things one inning at a time.

The Maroons did manage to push the game into the final inning, something that has never been done this season against the defending champions, although they could not get anything going offensively due to the performance of Annalie Benjamen. The reigning MVP's pitches proved to be a dicey disposition, netting twelve strikeouts.

This game will be televised on Sports+Action this Friday, with time TBD.