Taka Minowa’s tenure as the head coach of Akari is off to a wonderful start, leading the team to a franchise-best 4-0 start in the 2024 Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference.
During the Chargers’ fourth win on Thursday against the ZUS Coffee Thunderbelles, Minowa had extra motivation as his wife, Jaja Santiago, was at the Philsports Arena to support him and his team personally.
According to the soft-spoken tactician, it was the first time that Santiago, a star middle blocker in the V.League, was able to watch him do his job in the PVL.
(C) PVL Images
“Yes, it’s the first time she watched me,” said Minowa, who is now incorporating some Filipino words into his vocabulary.
“Actually, it’s a good inspiration because we came here together and then watched Choco Mucho against Capital1 where Dindin was playing,” he added.
“I can feel that family is here.”
(C) PVL Images
It was the perfect time for Santiago to watch as Minowa is achieving tremendous results with Akari.
The Chargers are tied with Cignal at the top of the Pool B standings, both sporting 4-0 records, with a battle for solo leadership scheduled on Tuesday at 1:00 PM.
Akari handily beat ZUS Coffee in straight sets while defeating Capital1 in four sets. They also managed to pull off stunning reverse sweeps against Choco Mucho and Petro Gazz.
Santiago’s season with JT Marvelous in the V.League will start in October. She is also still undergoing naturalization in Japan.
