Minowa hints at Creamline return

Jaja Santiago-Minowa is shifting her focus to her United States career after a short stint with the Creamline Cool Smashers.

But the 6-foot-5 middle blocker has a valid reason to come back to the club if given another chance: to settle unfinished business.

The Filipino-born but now naturalized Japanese citizen is looking forward to returning, albeit with no specific timetable, after coming up short in bringing the Cool Smashers to at least a podium finish in the 2026-2027 Premier Volleyball League’s (PVL) Invitational Conference.

Favored to go all the way with Minowa adding depth to an already stacked lineup, Creamline bombed out of the championship race despite a strong start.

Worse, it ended up with three straight losses capped by a 20-25, 25-20, 21-25, 22-25, defeat at the hands of PLDT in the battle for third on Tuesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“Creamline, they’re my family right now. I feel like I have unfinished business with them. So maybe, maybe (I’ll be back),” Minowa answered when asked about a possible return stint.

Minowa will suit up for the San Francisco Signal early next year as she takes her act to the League One Volleyball (LOVB) in the United States.

“For now, I think I wanna focus one by one, step by step. I need to perform first in San Francisco and after that, we’ll see if I go back here,” she said.

Creamline tapped Minowa during the offseason after her stint in the Japan SV.League as the 11-time PVL champion club aimed at reclaiming the season-opening title it last held in 2024.

Minowa made a comeback five years after leading the now-defunct Chery Tiggo to the 2021 Open Conference throne inside the Ilocos Norte bubble as the country’s first women’s professional volleyball league champion.

Ironically, Minowa and the Crossovers won their first and only title in the PVL at the expense of the Cool Smashers.

Minowa, wife of Alas Pilipinas Women head coach Taka Minowa, played one game for Creamline during the pre-season PVL On Tour Showdown to get a feel for the competition.

She was the Cool Smashers’ most reliable scorer during the Invitationals, averaging 18.5 points per game.

Minowa is set to leave for the US in October to hook up with Signal and prepare for the 2027 season starting in January.