MANILA -- As the Smart Araneta Coliseum celebrates six decades of hosting sports and entertainment events, the Arellano Chiefsquad's own glory story continued.
The Chiefsquad successfully defended its NCAA Cheerleading Competition title at the Coliseum in Quezon City right on its 60th anniversary Friday, delivering a near-flawless routine that earned the team 234.5 points, enough to beat eight other teams for its second straight cheerdance pennant and third overall in a span of four seasons plus PHP100,000 in cash.
The Altas PerpSquad, the winningest team in the competition, failed to bring the title back to Perpetual Help as the team finished runner-up to the Chiefsquad for the second straight season with 226 points. The team walked away with PHP75,000.
On the other hand, the San Beda Red Corps' resurgence continued this year as the team finally breached the podium with a third place finish that came with a PHP50,000 cash prize through a routine good for 193.5 points, just a half-point ahead of fourth-placed Mapua Cheerping Cardinals.
The JRU Pep Squad also fell short of making it to the Top 3 as its own performance was only good for 190 points in fifth place.
The EAC Generals Pep Squad came in sixth with 175 points, the Lakas Arriba Cheerleading Team finished seventh with 170.5 points, and the CSB Pep Squad settled for eighth place with 166 points following a performance that saw graduating member Jasmin Yu suffering a knee injury after a bad fall.
The Lyceum Pep Squad came in ninth place with 152 points.
The Golden Stags Cheerleading Squad opted to skip the competition for the fourth straight time, but San Sebastian's cheerdance team performed a special number in line with the closing ceremonies of NCAA Season 93 that the school hosted.
NCAA is the National Collegiate Athletic Association. (PNA)
