Bannered by two-time college division defending champions, the CCP Bobcats, this season's roster of competing schools include the runners-up from last year, the Ilocos-based MMSU Roosters, and Xavier University Crusaders from Cagayan De Oro. At least 10 cheer squads make their national debut as well.

Last year saw the Bobcats outperform the surprising Roosters and the Crusaders in the 2008 Finals. Competitive cheerleading stalwarts University of Perpetual Help, Letran, and San Sebastian, and the University of Makati are also poised to make a mark in the annual competition.

Some of the more notable squads also expected to make a splash in their NCC debuts are UAAP standouts De La Salle University and Far Eastern University, as well as NCAA veterans San Sebastian and Jose Rizal University. The DLSU pep squad recently placed 2^nd in the Alabang Town Center cheer competition, heralding a serious return to the world on competitive cheerleading after their rebuilding years, while the FEU Tamaraws remain the darkhorse after impressive showings the UAAP competitions for the past several years.

Also of note are the impressive showings of North Luzon regional Champs the University of the Cordilleras Dance Squad, which garnered the highest point total (299) of any NCC qualifying competition in history. They hope to carry that momentum up to the Finals, where they face another top seed, the University of Cebu Webmasters, which topped the Vis-Min Qualifiers over another NCC finalist, the La Salle Bacolod Stingers.

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