MANILA, Philippines — The University of Santo Tomas (UST) Salinggawi Dance Troupe vowed to come back stronger next season after failing to land in the top three at the UAAP Cheerdance Competition on Saturday.

Last year, the Salinggawi finished in second place behind the National University (NU) Pep Squad. This year, the team settled for fourth with NU, Far Eastern University and Adamson University ending up 1-2-3.

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"We will train harder," said Salinggawi team captain Benjo Gutierrez. "We'll figure out what went wrong and correct whatever mistakes we made this season."

Despite the unfavorable results, Gutierrez said the team didn't lack effort.

"We don't feel bad at all because we know we did our best and we know we made the Thomasian community proud," he said.

What's more important, Gutierrez said, is his cheerdancers believed in their routine and they did their best executing it.

"First of all, you're only competing against yourself. For us, we're still winners," he said, adding that the Salinggawi appreciated the other schools' gesture of cheering for his team.

"The love we felt, it caused some goosebumps for sure."

Salinggawi is a known powerhouse in the UAAP Cheerdance Competition with eight titles, five second-place finishes and three third- place finishes.

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