Jaja Santiago and Saitama saw themselves knocked out of playoff contention by Toray, 21-25, 25-21, 21-25, 18-25, in the 2021-22 V.League Division 1 women’s tournament, Wednesday at the Yokooji Sports Park Gymnasium in Kyoto.
Despite the tough loss, the 6-foot-5 Filipina import showed her blocking prowess anew. She has the most blocks in the 12-team field with 86.
Santiago ended up with six blocks to go with five attacks, and a service ace to end up with 12 points.
League-leading scorer Jana Kulan led the Arrows with 29 points, with all but one coming from spikes.
Mayu Ishikawa added 17 points of her own in the victory that pushed Toray to a league-best 23-6 win-loss card.
Lorenne Teixeira topscored for the Ageo Medics with 18 points. Mami Uchiseto chimed in 16 points including two blocks.
Saitama dropped to 16-12 at sixth place and will be unable to reach the 22-8 NEC for third seed with just five games to go.
Ageo Medics will return on Saturday against Toyota, 2:30 pm, at the Sanyo Fureai Park Gymnasium in Okayama.
