MANILA, Philippines – Filipina star Jaja Santiago will join the Japanese women’s volleyball team in training as it gears up for the Paris Olympics.

The Japanese Volleyball Association on Friday, March 8, announced that Santiago and Cuban spiker Melissa Valdes had been added to the original 24-woman training pool selected by head coach Masayoshi Manabe.

It has been a couple of years since Santiago, a 6-foot-5 middle blocker, got offered a Japanese citizenship as she continues to make waves in the Japan V.League Division 1.

Santiago, though, has yet to be naturalized, according to her Japanese husband Taka Minowa, who serves as director of volleyball operations for Premier Volleyball League (PVL) clubs Akari Chargers and Nxled Chameleons.

Minowa wrote on X on Friday that Santiago joining the training camp is a “really big step for her dream.”

Santiago started playing in Japan for the Saitama Ageo Medics in 2018, reinforcing the squad until 2023 in between her stints in the PVL.

The former NU Lady Bulldogs standout then signed with the JT Marvelous and helped the team finish as runner-up in the recently concluded 2023-24 V.League season as they lost to defending champion NEC Red Rockets.

Undoubtedly one of the finest players in the V.League, Santiago won Best Spiker and Best Blocker and made the Best Six last season.

The Japanese women’s volleyball team hopes to qualify for the Olympics for the sixth straight edition. – Rappler.com