Jaja Santiago has been named to the Japan V.League Best Six of the 2022-23 season on Saturday.
The 6-foot-5 Santiago, who is now in her fifth year with Saitama, received one of the two Best Middle Blocker awards given out by the league, along with Ayaka Araki of Hisamitsu.
The 27-year-old Filipina import from Tanza, Cavite led the Ageo Medics to the second seed after the regular season, finishing with a record of 24-9. However, they fell short in the round-robin semifinals and finished in fourth place.
Santiago was second in the league in attack efficiency, converting 49.6 percent of her attempts. She also ranked third in blocks per set, with 0.69.
Joining Santiago and Araki in the Best Six are outside hitters Sarina Koga (NEC) and Mayu Ishikawa (Toray), opposite spiker Danielle Cuttino (Toyota), and setter Yuka Sawada (NEC).
Santiago has also won the Fair Play Award for the second season in a row.
Last season, Santiago was the Best Blocker, after a historic 103-block output. That made her only the third player ever in league history to reach triple digits in that category.
