Pitted in a strong 10-team field of the NCAA Season 99 Cheerleading Competition, the Colegio de San Juan de Letran Cheering Squad left it all on the mats en route to back-to-back podium finishes in the tournament.
Jake Romero, the team captain of the crew, shared that their 10-minute routine was inspired by their previous coach Arnold Villanueva, who passed away last February 10 after years of calling the shots for the Letran Cheering Squad.
Before his demise, Villanueva, dubbed as the 'Father of Philippine Cheerleading', was hands-on in forming their Season 99 performance as they look to capture their breakthrough championship. In fact, Villanueva was also the man behind their last pyramid that started with everyone pointing towards heaven as a tribute to the late tactician.
In that final sequence as well, the squad used SB19's hit single 'MAPA', which was a song dedicated to honor one's parents for their dedication.
"The inspiration of that performance is our beloved coach Arnold [who] passed away last February 10 and buong lakas naming sinisigaw na proud na proud kaming naging athletes kami ni coach Arnold," Romero told GMA News Online.
"I'm very happy na we did our best and na-pull off namin ‘yung routine na ‘yun and alam ko na happy si coach Arnold sa nangyari."
The dramatic performance saw the Letran Cheering Squad claiming the third place finish for the second straight year while Arellano University and University of Perpetual Help System DALTA seized the gold and silver, respectively.
Despite falling short of their ultimate goal, Romero and the rest of the squad find comfort in knowing that they made their late coach proud up there.
"Our preparations started last year. We had training for stunts, pyramids," Romero added.
"Lahat ng ginawa namin ay buong puso naming inaalay kay Coach Arnold."
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
