HOPING to start a new winning streak, National University Pep Squad coach Ghicka Bernabe vowed to make their best even better in the UAAP Season 82 Cheerdance Competition that will be held on November 17 at the MOA Arena.
Bernabe is aware that fans are expecting nothing but perfection from the defending champions, and they're about to give the crowd what they want.
Last year, NU symbolically came back from the dead, as it ruled the Cheerdance Competition with a Coco-inspired theme after a failed five-peat bid in Season 80.
The solid performance, which was based on the 2017 animated film that featured the Mexican holiday of Día de los Muertos or Day of the Dead, garnered a total of 711 points to give the Sampaloc-based cheerdancers their fifth title in the last six years.
"To be honest with you, even us coaches are having a hard time, kasi kung ano 'yung ginawa namin last year, the previous years, nahihirapan na rin kaming pantayan or talunin," Bernabe said on Wednesday during the UAAP Cheerdance Competition presser at the MOA Arena.
The high expectations for her squad mean they cannot be too cautious, which has resulted in them working on hard, "death-defying" routines. She explained, "Kung mag-play safe kami, mawawala 'yung kung saan nakilala ang NU Pep Squad."
Without revealing any hint about their performance, Bernabe assured fans that they have stepped up their game for this year's competition.
She said, "Gusto namin kung ano 'yung ine-expect sa amin ng mga tao, somehow ma-hit namin. Kung malalampasan pa namin, that's much better. Mas mahirap siguro yung routine namin ngayon in terms of pyramids and stunts."
Motivated by their heartbreak two years ago, not to mention the disappointment of supporters, Bernabe and her team prepared "10 times harder" than last year.
"Para kaming nakipag-break talaga," she admitted. "So ngayon, ayaw naming ma-feel nung community ng supporters kung ano 'yung naramdaman namin dati. Looking forward kami sa mas magandang season para sa amin, para sa lahat."
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