Upset win for sports star in ‘Celebrity Dance Battle’

GARY David, with partner Stephanie Sabalo, won due to his sports-honed determination and never-say-die spirit. His beautifully sculpted torso helped, too.

When popular basketball player Gary David won the first quarterly finals of “Celebrity Dance Battle,” some people attributed the unexpected victory of the athlete-turned-dancer to the relatively low level of his competitors’ performances.

Last June 29, however the TV5 program held its grand finals—and, when Gary trounced the competition there as well, the other quarterly tilt winners put up a really stiff fight, so Gary’s victory was a truly spectacular achievement!

How could a newly minted dancer triumph over the much more experienced celebrities in the finals? “Blame” it on Gary’s sports-honed determination and never-say-die spirit—and, on his beautifully sculpted torso, which he made sure to gloriously and uninhibitedly share with rapt viewers in his and his dance partner Stephanie Sabalo’s final competition number!

Gary’s victory was a popular decision, as proven by the fact that his team also romped off with the texters’ vote. Even better, he had markedly improved as a dancer since his first-quarter victory, now daring to do much more complicated steps, moves and riffs than what he had attempted only a few months ago.

Tweaks, twirls

This time around, he chose for his winning showcase a dance tribute to Michael Jackson. Thankfully, he went way beyond sheer imitation of MJ’s moves, using them merely as a springboard for his own terpsichorean tweaks, twirls and choreographic flourishes.

Gary’s victory was made especially admirable by the fact that his opponents in the grand finals all danced their hearts out to impress judges and viewers alike.

Priscilla Meirelles was hot and lovely as she did her best to remain in contention. Iwa Moto looked rather plump, but tried to compensate with a “bedroom” number that was slinky and sexy.

As for Ciara Sotto, she wowed everyone by combining her ballroom dancing verve with her prodigious pole-dancing prowess in midair, before she showed off her dazzling “ballroom” footwork. Among the female finalists, she struck us as Gary’s top rival and threat.

But, Gary’s strongest competition, in our view, was Rafa Siguion-Reyna, whose dynamic and “good to the last drop” number also wowed viewers with its verve and versatility. It was one part musical theater, another part “street” and “funk”—and, finally, a deft combination of multiple styles and inspirations that, like Gary’s bravura finale number, also had the “wow” factor.

So, why did Gary win over Rafa? The fact that Gary was more of an athlete than a dancer and yet did so amazingly well could have tipped the balance in his favor.

What was most gratifying about the grand finals of “Celebrity Dance Battle” was the fact that all of the finalists did their best in it—unlike other telecasts of the show, which featured lazy and inept “moves” instead of real dancing.

We hope that celebrities who are thinking of entering the tilt’s next season learned from watching last June 29’s finals to get off their fastidious stellar butts, and really, truly—dance!