JAJA Santiago was once a superstar to give National U a sliver of hope that it can return to the mountaintop of UAAP women’s volleyball after roughly six decades.
With the likes of her sister Dindin Santiago-Manabat, Audrey Paran, Jorelle Singh, Jasmine Nabor, and Risa Sato, among many others, Santiago's arrival gave the blue-and-hold faithful a reason to believe that lost glory can be restored.
In her five-season run as a Lady Bulldog, the Jhocson side had back-to-back bronze medals and a fourth-place finish.
There were multiple opportunities for NU at the time over a decade ago to solidify its stature as a championship contender.
However, they just couldn’t find a way to play spoiler to the rivalry between Alyssa Valdez-led Ateneo and Ramil de Jesus' La Salle.
It was those two schools that ran the show in women’s volleyball, with the Lady Bulldogs among those teams in the background that were always just a few wins short of raining on Taft and Katipunan’s parades.
Finishing what Jaja started
Fast forward to the present, Santiago couldn’t help but be a proud alumna and ‘ate’ to this young, star-laden crew led by two of the greatest modern-day stars in Philippine volleyball in Bella Belen and Alyssa Solomon.
READ: NU imposes will on La Salle for third title in last four seasons
If there’s any question on whether this batch of Lady Bulldogs is the best the school has seen, as evidenced by three title wins in four years now, Santiago would be the first to say that it isn’t up for debate anymore.
“I’m very, very proud sa NU ngayon, lalo na this season dahil meron din silang mga pagbabago. I know because this season din namin sa JT, marami kaming pagbabago. Alam ko na hindi ganun kadali yung mga changes, lalo na sa system ng coaches, especially sa NU na may bago,” said Santiago.
“I think Alyssa had an injury last time. Alam ko na hindi ganun kadali para sa kanila na mawala rin yung isa sa key players nila. I’m very proud na nag-step up yung bawat player sa kanila.
“Ayoko nang ibalik yung time ko kasi maganda na talaga yung pinapakita ng girls and I’m very, very proud of them.”
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