JAJA Santiago ended her stint in the Japan SV.League on a glorious note Saturday by helping her team win the league championship via a sweep of the best-of-three series.
The title was a sweet end to Santiago's final season as an import as her Osaka Marvelous side completed a sweep of defending champion NEC Red Rockets, 25-22, 25-21, 25-16, in Game 2 of the finals in Tokyo.
READ: Jaja, Maddie parting ways with Japan SV.League clubs at season's end
Santiago, known as Sachi Minowa in Japan, contributed 10 points built on seven attacks and three blocks in the game as the Marvelous put the finishing touches to their 37-7 preliminary round run.
In Game 1, Minowa was also at her best. She dished out 12 markers on eight attacks and four blocks in a 25-14, 25-10, 25-21 series-opening sweep.
The title was Marvelous’ third overall, but their first in four years.
The tournament was the first unified women’s volleyball league following the scrapping of its traditional tiers and divisions, making the victory special.
A former PVL champion and MVP, Minowa made sure Osaka would gain a measure of revenge over the team that foiled their near-perfect campaign last year.
Minowa, 29, is the first Filipina to play in a team that won the Japanese league title and it came just before she and her compatriots, Jia de Guzman and Maddie Madayag, bid farewell to their respective clubs.
Minowa eliminated de Guzman’s Denso Airybees in the quarterfinals while Madayag’s Kurobe Aqua Fairies failed to reach the playoffs after finishing 12th out of the 14-team field with a 15-29 card.
The Filipina trio have yet to announce their next moves after ending their Japan SV.League stints.
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