BACARRA, ILOCOS NORTE — Almost two years since they last played together, the Santiago sisters finally shared the court once again on Saturday afternoon here at the PCV Socio-Civic Cultural Center.
The last time Jaja and Dindin played together was back on August 24, 2019, when Foton dropped a tightly-contested, five-game bronze medal series against Petron in the Philippine Superliga All-Filipino Conference.
Now in the Premier Volleyball League, the Santiagos are just glad to finally have each other’s back once again.
“Siyempre masaya kasi after ilang taon na hindi kami nagkasama sa loob ng court. Andyan ulit yung taong umaalalay sakin at the same time ganun din ako sa kanya,” said the younger Santiago, moments after Chery Tiggo’s historic win over PLDT.
“Sobrang saya kasi lagi kong hinahanap yunt kapatid ko sa court and eto na magkasama na kami. So, sobrang saya,” added Santiago-Manabat, who is two years the elder of Jaja.
In their first game back, Jaja and Dindin spearheaded a huge run in the third set that allowed the Crossovers to finish off the Power Hitters, 25-20, 25-17, 25-6, to become the first team to win a game in the first-ever professional volleyball league in the country.
Dindin was the second best scorer for Chery with 12 points built on 10 attacks, a block, and an ace while the Ageo Medics import had 11 points on seven attacks and four aces for the Crossovers..
“Nakikita ko naman na sa aming dalawa ni Ate Dindin talaga na kapag magkasama kami, yung challenge, yung pagalalay sa isa’t isa, talagang gumaganda and all,” said Santiago, who showed no signs of rust in the match.
Dindin, Jaja, and Chery Tiggo look to score its second-straight victory against Cignal at 6:00 PM on Monday.
