BACARRA — Sisters Jaja and Dindin Santiago always got each other’s back.
After two years, Dindin and Jaja finally made their on-court reunion and fueled Chery Tiggo’s three-set win over PLDT in its Premier Volleyball League Open Conference debut on Saturday at the PCV Socio-Civic and Cultural Center here.
Santiago reunion
For Jaja, it’s always fun and inspiring to have her elder sister on her side, especially since they reunited in the first professional volleyball game in the country.
“Siyempre masaya kasi after ilang taon na hindi kami nagkasama sa loob ng court, andyan ulit yung taong umaalalay sakin at the same time ganun din ako sa kanya,” said the younger Santiago.
Manabat said she really missed playing with her sister.
“Lagi kong hinahanap yung kapatid ko sa court and eto na magkasama na kami so sobrang saya,” she expressed.
The towering sisters out of National University last played together in the 2019 Philippine Superliga All Filipino Conference, where Foton lost the bronze match to Petron. Dindin won the Best Opposite Spiker and Jaja was named as 1st Best Middle Blocker of the tournament.
In the same year, the Santiagos took their sister act to the Japan V.League and faced each other, with Jaja playing for Ageo Medics, while Dindin served as import for Kurobe AquaFairies.
When the pandemic started last year, the sisters worked separately with the 6-foot-5 middle blocker staying with Ageo Medics and winning a title in V. Cup last April, while her elder sister was limited to home workouts during the year-long inactivity.
Now that they are reunited, Jaja was so proud to see Dindin flaunting the flashes of her deadly form with 12 points to end a year-long lull from volleyball tournaments.
“Nakikita ko naman na sa aming dalawa ni Ate Dindin talaga pag magkasama kami yung challenge, yung pagalalay (sa isa’t isa) talagang gumaganda and all,” said the former UAAP MVP, who had 11 markers off seven attacks and four aces.
Besides the Santiago sisters having each other’s back, Chery Tiggo also leaned on playmaker Jasmine Nabor, libero Buding Duremdes and Mylene Paat as well as Joy Dacoron, and Arriane Layug, who were revelations in their first game.
“Natutuwa ako sa mga teammates kasi kahit konti lang yung jelling time namin as a team and konti lang yung preparation namin, nagaadjust talaga and pinipilit nila na ibalik agad yung laro nila at mafeel nila yung connection sa loob ng court, lahat,” Jaja said.
The Crossovers were happy to win and remain healthy in their first assignment of this short conference. Dindin said their team is ready for the bigger challenges of this bubble tournament.
“Nag fo-focus lang kami sa trainings and sa games namin kung ano man yung ibigay sa aming challenge, i-chachallenge namin yung sarili namin,” she said. “Nag pandemic or nabigay lang samin is conditioning lang pero magkakasama na kami ng matagal so kilala na namin ang bawat isa.”
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