Five years after capturing the league’s first-ever professional championship, Jaja Santiago will return to the Premier Volleyball League after signing with Creamline.
Santiago, now known as Sachi Minowa after acquiring Japanese citizenship in 2024, will make a stop with the Cool Smashers before joining San Francisco Signal in the League One Volleyball (LOVB) Pro.
The 30-year-old middle blocker last played in the league back in 2021, where she helped Chery Tiggo capture the first professional championship in the league.
She was also the first Most Valuable Player in the league’s professional era.
Since her last PVL appearance, Santiago has suited up for multiple clubs in Japan, returning to the Ageo Medics in late 2021 before enjoying stints with Osaka Marvelous and Denso Airybees.
She also established herself as one of the best middle blockers in Japan, winning the positional award in 2022 and 2023.
The move also reunites two of Philippine volleyball’s biggest stars. Santiago and Alyssa Valdez first played together at UST in high school before teaming up again for PLDT in the Shakey’s V-League and later the Philippine national team.
Their reunion also comes five years after they faced each other in the PVL’s first professional championship series. Santiago and the Crossovers denied Valdez and the Cool Smashers in a dramatic reverse sweep of the best-of-three finals inside the Ilocos Norte bubble in 2021.
The addition of the 6-foot-5 Santiago is expected to boost Creamline’s frontcourt, joining a middle blocker rotation led by 10-time PVL Best Middle Blocker Jeanette Panaga alongside Bea De Leon, Sheena Toring, Michelle Gamit, Nica Celis, and Erin Pangilinan.
