JAJA Santiago, also known as Sachi Minowa in Japan, is excited to team up with the “Phenom” Alyssa Valdez for the Creamline Cool Smashers in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL).
After almost five years of playing in Japan, Santiago signed with 11-time PVL champions on Aug. 7 for the 2026 Invitational Conference.
The 6-foot-5 middle blocker led the charge for Chery Tiggo in the 2021 PVL Open Conference, helping the Crossovers defeat the Cool Smashers in the finals where Santiago was named Best Middle Blocker and Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP).
That was the last time Santiago played in the PVL.
Santiago and Valdez, however, played together for the Philippine team in the 2022 Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi, Vietnam. They were also teammates for PLDT in the Shakey’s V-League in 2015.
“Of course, I am very excited since the last time we shared the court was in Under-23 or in PLDT. Then right now we are playing together again, and even though we’re getting older, we’re also getting a lot of experience too,” said the 30-year-old Santiago.
“I’m still learning from Alyssa, and I am really excited to play with her on the court,” she added.
Santiago, however, will be sitting on the bench in the game between Creamline and Galeries Tower in the 2026 PVL On Tour in Negros Occidental on Saturday.
Santiago also shared her excitement, playing with the other marquee players in the team such as Tots Carlos, Jema Galanza and Michele Gumabao.
“Actually, there are a lot of new players, and also some of them were my teammates, and some of them are fresh graduates, so I am really excited to play against all the teams in the Invitational,” she said.
Santiago’s stint with Creamline will be a short one as she is heading to the United States to play in the League One Volleyball (LOVB) starting in January 2027.
Santiago, who led the Osaka Marvelous to the championship in 2018, was named Best Blocker (2021-2022), Best Middle Blocker (2022-2023), and Best Spiker (2023-2024) in Japan.
