While the Chery Tiggo team that dominated the 2021 Premier Volleyball League Open Conference and the squad that fought its way to the 2025 preseason PVL On Tour championship match looked entirely different, Jaja Santiago sees a striking similarity in both Finals runs.
Santiago, now known in Japan as Sachi Minowa, was the Finals MVP of the PVL’s first-ever professional title series. She led the Crossovers to a hard-fought, three-game championship victory over the Creamline Cool Smashers in the 2021 Bacarra bubble tournament.
Four years later, she remains with Chery Tiggo — but now as a supporter — cheering on the new-look squad, with Shaya Adorador, Jasmine Nabor, and Mylene Paat as the only remaining members from the 2021 championship team.
According to Santiago, who has carved out a successful career in SV.League and won multiple Best Middle Blocker awards, the story of 2021 and 2025 is fundamentally the same.
“I think the similarity is we lost a lot of games also before nung journey namin to the Finals,” Santiago said on Tuesday after Chery Tiggo defeated Cignal at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, 25-17, 16-25, 25-21, 25-23.
“Also, we are not that connected to each other pero towards the end, nakuha namin yung chemistry ng bawat isa. Kunwari yung isa is nawawala sa laro, paano namin sila hihilahin?” she added.
(C) PVL Images
Both squads began their respective tournaments with a 3-2 record, experiencing ups and downs before turning it on when the stakes were highest.
The 2021 Crossovers won their final four preliminary-round games to finish 7-2, enough to reach the semifinals. There, they swept the Choco Mucho Flying Titans in three games before ousting the Cool Smashers in the Finals.
Meanwhile, the 2025 Crossovers clawed their way to the gold medal match from the knockout round, defeating the Galeries Highrisers before taking down the higher-ranked Nxled Chameleons in the quarterfinals.
“Ngayon yung mga past few games ng Chery, I saw yung younger players [then] sila Tyang Aby sila yung parang nagli-lift, nagmi-make ng connection sa loob ng court, which is really good,” Santiago said, praising how the veteran players are connecting with the young guns.
“Yun yung kailangan namin eh, yung koneksyon and kung sino yung magpu-push doon sa mga players, sa amin na tapusin yung laro kasi minsan naa-out of focus or nai-intimidate yung ibang players.”
With Chery Tiggo back on the grandest stage after nine medal-less conferences, Santiago is urging the Crossovers to finish the story on Sunday when they face the PLDT High Speed Hitters in an all-or-nothing gold medal match at the SM Mall of Asia Arena — just as they did in 2021.
“I’m very happy and very proud sa kanila dahil after four years, ito, nasa Finals na ulit kami. And tulad nga ng sabi ko sa kanila, don’t settle for less and huwag natin hayaan na matapos yung season na we regret something,” said the 2021 PVL Open Conference MVP.
“Sabi ko dapat until Finals we work harder, we push harder, we do everything that we can. Kailangan talagang go for it, win the Finals.”
