Jaja bids sayonara to Japan V.League

Jaja Santiago wrapped up her final season in the 2024-2025 SV.League women’s volleyball with a flourish, steering the Osaka Marvelous to the championship with a commanding sweep of defending champion NEC Red Rockets Kawasaki on Saturday at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo.

Santiago delivered a stellar performance in her final match as an import, scoring 10 points on seven attacks and three blocks to power the Marvelous to a 25-22, 25-21, 25-16 victory in Game 2 of the best-of-three finals series.

The win clinched Osaka’s third league crown — and first in four years — and marked the perfect ending to a dominant 37-7 season.

The former Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) and champion had also played a key role in Game 1, where she tallied 12 points built on eight attacks and four blocks in another sweep, 25-14, 25-10, 25-21.

The Marvelous’ triumph is made even more significant as this season marked the inaugural edition of the unified women’s division of Japan’s V.League, following the abolition of its multi-tiered system.

That restructuring added prestige to an already historic run for Santiago and her team.

Santiago, 29, became the first Filipina to win a championship in Japan’s top-tier volleyball league — a milestone moment for Philippine volleyball.

For Santiago, though, her legacy in the Land of the Rising Sun is already etched in history — a fitting end to a remarkable journey that began with a dream and ended with a championship.

Her victory also served as a sweet revenge over the Red Rockets, the same team that derailed Osaka’s near-perfect campaign in 2023.

It was a bittersweet weekend for Philippine volleyball fans in Japan as Santiago’s win also signaled the end of an era.

She and fellow Filipinas Jia de Guzman and Maddie Madayag are bidding farewell to their respective clubs after the season.

Santiago’s Osaka squad eliminated De Guzman’s Denso Airybees in the quarterfinals while Madayag’s Kurobe Aqua Fairies missed the playoffs after finishing 12th in the 14-team field with a 15-29 record.

For Santiago, though, her legacy in the Land of the Rising Sun is already etched in history — a fitting end to a remarkable journey that began with a dream and ended with a championship.