Adamson Pep Squad captain Dwyeth Vergeire wins it all on his last day

JR Isaga

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Adamson Pep Squad captain Dwyeth Vergeire wins it all on his last day

Alecs Ongcal

Graduating leader Dwyeth Vergeire and his squad aimed to only win the hearts of people, but they did not expect the trophy and medal

MANILA, Philippines –  For Adamson Pep Squad captain Dwyeth Vergeire, his success couldn’t have arrived at a better time.

Sampung Araw para sa Huling Sayaw (Ten days for the last dance),” read a caption on a photo on his Facebook profile.  Little did the graduating leader know that his curtain call would pay him off for all the hard work he has put in for the past 5 years.

On Saturday, December 2, amid a rainbow-colored sea of adoring fans, the titans of cheerdance came crashing down, one after the other, quite literally. 

Then along came the Adamson Pep Squad – clad in sky blue and glitter, skipping around the arena with the support of their glowstick-waving fans. They were ready to entertain, not to gain glory nor gold. They were ready to win hearts, not medals.

To the tune of 1980s OPM hits your parents would get jiggy with back in their heyday, they did exactly that. Complete with an actual disco ball glued to a pole, they took the crowd back to a time where things were simpler. And it showed too with how they performed – simpler tosses, simpler pyramids, but they were cleaner than the rest. They showed that, like life was in the 80s, not everything has to be complicated.

By the time that the announcement of winners came, no one knew who the podium finishers would be. People social media were uncharacteristically diverse in their personal picks. Even the judges themselves admitted through the emcees that it was “one of the most difficult-to-judge contests in CDC history.”

Surprisingly, the biggest highlight of the competition happened after the runners-up were announced. The silver medalists haven’t even left the podium when a big majority of fans in the Mall of Asia Arena started to call for their unanimous pick to win it all.

“Adamson! Adamson! Adamson!” More than 18,000 people united in one voice, calling for the young challengers who were once an afterthought in the long-standing annual spectacle.

Then their call was answered. The Adamson Pep Squad was officially declared the UAAP Season 80 Cheerdance Competition champions amid an explosion of elation (and confetti) from all corners of the arena.

A full hour after the end of the competition, Vergeire was still in disbelief. “Parang panaginip po siya eh,” he said. “Since majority po sa team namin bago so parang ‘Huh? Totoo ba talagang nanalo kami? Champion pa?‘”

(“It’s like a dream. Since majority of the team was new, I was like, ‘Huh? Did we really win? Champions even?’”)

“Speechless po [ako],” he added. “Di ko po ma-explain kung paano kami nanalo. Sa totoo po, di po kami nag-eexpect na kumuha ng trophy or medal. Yung pinaka-goal po talaga namin sa team is to win hearts.”

(“I’m speechless. I can’t explain how we won. Actually, we weren’t expecting to get trophies or medals. Our main goal as a team is to win hearts.”)

Pag nanalo po kami sa puso ng lahat, susunod na po ‘yung trophy ‘tsaka medals.”

(“If we have won the hearts of everyone, the trophies and medals will follow.”)

Sure enough, he did just that. After 4 years of coming up short, he made it count at just the right time. – Rappler.com

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