Foton player Jaja Santiago, arguably one of the best female volleyball players in the country today, is definitely going back to Japan in early September to fulfill her contractual obligation to her Japanese team.
Santiago, the other half of the explosive 1-2 Foton punch with sister Dindin Santiago-Manabat in the ongoing Pilipinas Super Liga All Filipino Conference, revealed her plans in an interview in Cagayan de Oro, where Foton played Petron recently.
“My contract with them (Japanese) is up to May of next year. I need to be with the team when the season begins there. One concern for me is how it may affect my playing for the SEA Games’ team and I really want to be with the national team. I hope everything can be worked out to enable me to do that. The decision may be beyond me,” said Santiago.
She also shared that her dream right now is to play at the international level and her stint with her club team in Japan is the key to realizing that goal.
“I want to experience playing against the best players of the world and eventually, be a regular player in the circuit. I have learned so much from my first stint as an import last year and I know I still have so much to learn and improve on my game,” she added.
Going back to the local action at the PSL, Santiago believes that her team can go all the way to the finals.
“But we need to play at a consistently high level. We lost to Petron in CDO but that was the kind of game that Foton should play at all time. It is my dream to win again a championship with my new teammates here in Foton, and I think we can do it,” she said.
In that CDO game, Jaja had a 26-point performance that complemented the season-high 31 of Dindin in a losing cause for Foton.
Foton will meet either Cignal, Generika-Ayala, or PLDT in the knockout quarterfinals and if they get past the quarters, it will either be against Petron or F2 Logistics in the semifinals.
Presently, Petron is No. 1 followed by F2 Logistics, while the next two slots in the Top 4 are being contested by Generika-Ayala, Foton, and Cignal.