Jaja Santiago returns to PVL, reunites with Alyssa Valdez at Creamline
Five years after helping Chery Tiggo win the Premier Volleyball League’s first professional championship, Jaja Santiago is making her return to the league—this time in a Creamline jersey.
Santiago, who now goes by Sachi Minowa after becoming a Japanese citizen in 2024, has signed with the Cool Smashers for a brief PVL stint before heading to the United States to join the San Francisco Signal in the League One Volleyball (LOVB) Pro.
The 30-year-old middle blocker last saw PVL action in 2021, when she powered the Crossovers to the inaugural professional title. Santiago also made history that season as the first Most Valuable Player of the league’s professional era.
She has since built an impressive career in Japan, returning to the Ageo Medics after her PVL stint before playing for Osaka Marvelous and Denso Airybees. Her performances also earned her recognition as one of Japan’s premier middle blockers, winning the league’s Best Middle Blocker award in both 2022 and 2023.
Her return to the Philippines will also rekindle one of the sport’s most familiar partnerships.
Santiago will once again share the court with Alyssa Valdez, whom she first played alongside at the University of Santo Tomas in high school. The two later teamed up at PLDT in the Shakey’s V-League and with the Philippine national team.
Their latest reunion carries added significance after the two found themselves on opposite sides of the net during the PVL’s historic first professional championship series.
Santiago and Chery Tiggo stunned Valdez and Creamline in the 2021 finals, overcoming an early deficit to complete a reverse sweep in the best-of-three series at the Ilocos Norte bubble.
Now, the pair will look to chase a title together as members of the Cool Smashers.
Standing at 6-foot-5, Santiago also gives Creamline another imposing presence at the net. She joins a deep middle blocker group headed by 10-time PVL Best Middle Blocker Jeanette Panaga, with Bea De Leon, Sheena Toring, Michelle Gamit, Nica Celis, and Erin Pangilinan also in the mix.
Santiago’s return gives Creamline a proven championship performer and one of the Philippines’ most accomplished middle blockers, while also adding another chapter to her long-running volleyball journey between the Philippines, Japan, and now the United States.
