Jaja Santiago, now Sachi Minowa, is finally a champion in Japan's top volleyball league after the Osaka Marvelous captured the 2024-25 SV.League title.
After years of perseverance and steady growth, Jaja Santiago—now known as Sachi Minowa—has finally reached the summit of Japanese volleyball.
Santiago and the Osaka Marvelous are the inaugural SV.League champions, sweeping the NEC Red Rockets in the Finals of the 2024–25 season.
Santiago began her journey in Japan back in the 2018–19 V.League season, signing with the Saitama Ageo Medics.
Her impact was quickly felt, helping the team secure a bronze medal by the 2019–20 season. She followed that up by playing a key role in the Ageo Medics’ 2021 V Cup title run, a crowning moment after the team finished fifth in the regular V.League campaign.
As her career progressed, Santiago emerged as one of the top middle blockers in the league.
She tallied a career-high 103 blocks in the 2021–22 season, earning the Best Blocker Award, and was later named to the ‘Best 6’ of the V1 Final Stage in 2023, her final year in Saitama.
In 2023–24, Santiago made the leap to JT Marvelous, who immediately regained their status as title contenders after a slight down performance the season prior.
In Santiago’s first season with the Marvelous, they went 23-1 but had to settle for second place. Nevertheless, it was Jaja’s best individual season as she captured both the Spike and Block Awards, and again earning a spot in the V.Final Stage Best 6.
Everything then came together in the 2024–25 season, Santiago’s last with the team, as the now Osaka Marvelous again dominated the SV.League.
Osama went 37-7 in the regular season and 6-1 in the playoffs to finally claim the championship.
For Santiago, the title represents the culmination of a seven-year journey in Japan—marked by growth, resilience, and now, a long-awaited triumph.
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[Editor's note: This article was written by a member of the One Sports Digital with the help of AI, and then checked by the staff to ensure accuracy.]