Jaja Santiago's thunderous spikes and soul-crushing blocks will be missed in the collegiate volleyball scene.
In her five years with National University, Santiago served as the Lady Bulldogs' most lethal weapon. Her combination of height, athleticism, and versatility made her a huge threat to all opposing teams.
She has received multiple individual plums in her UAAP career, including three consecutive Best Attacker awards. She's also in the running for the Most Valuable Player honors this season. But there's a piece of hardware that's obviously lacking from her collection: the championship trophy.
Despite her dominance, the 6-foot-5 Santiago has never led the Lady Bulldogs to the title. She never even made it to the finals. She entered the semifinals three times but she never got to advance to the biggest stage.
On Sunday night, Santiago gathered her teammates at center court, trying her best to smile amidst the tears. The Lady Bulldogs suffered a sweep at the hands of the De La Salle Lady Spikers in the Final Four. For the fifth time in her turbulent UAAP ride, she was coming home empty-handed.
"It hurts that I wasn't able to give a championship to NU now that I'm leaving," Santiago told reporters an hour after the loss. "I got really emotional. I cried because this is my last playing year with my teammates. We went through a lot in NU. We encountered a lot of ups and downs, so it's really difficult to leave them."
***
Five years ago, a 17-year-old Santiago received an athletic scholarship offer from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Fresh out of high school, she was presented a golden opportunity to join an elite volleyball training program and play for a US NCAA Division I school.
To the surprise of many, Santiago and her family decided to turn it down. Instead of going abroad, the young Caviteña enrolled at National University and joined her older sister, Dindin, in the Lady Bulldogs team.
The towering Santiago sisters conspired to tow the Lady Bulldogs to a maiden Shakey's V-League title that summer. With a reinforced squad, they were also tagged as the favorites to win the UAAP crown. But that was the year that the Ateneo Lady Eagles pulled off a Cinderella run, toppling both NU and La Salle in the stepladder semifinals on their way to the championship.
Rookie of the Year Jaja Santiago failed to bring NU to the promised land on her first try. And as it turned out, that freshman year would set the tone for how the rest of Santiago's collegiate years would play out. They would show their dominant form in the preseason and Santiago would receive a slew of individual awards, but they would get the boot in the Final Four or miss the playoffs altogether.
After her fourth early exit in the UAAP, Santiago thought about foregoing her final year of eligibility. She received another international offer, this time from a professional Thai volleyball club Bangkok Glass. She was invited to reinforce the team in the Thailand League, but like what she did with UCLA in 2013, she declined and chose to stay with NU.
Season 80 would have to be the biggest heartbreak for Santiago. After all, it was her last chance for redemption. Everything she sacrificed, every opportunity she let go boiled down to this last shot.
"Now that I'm on my last playing year, I will not accept a different result. I don't want to graduate without getting a UAAP championship," she vowed before the tournament started.
As fate would have it, the Lady Bulldogs' pattern for the last four years continued. They reigned supreme in the PVL Collegiate Conference and Santiago is in the running for different awards including the MVP, but they once again failed to secure a ticket to the finals.
***
What if Santiago went to UCLA for college? Or what if she skipped this season to play for Bangkok Glass or any other overseas team?
For her, there's no use asking all these "what if" questions. Despite failing to secure the trophy, she insists that her decision to stay with NU was worth it.
"I don't regret anything because I chose all my decisions. I worked hard for whatever I decided to on," Santiago said. "It even benefitted me because it prepared me for my next opportunities."
Her team's failures in the UAAP should not define Santiago's volleyball career. At 22 years old, she still has a whole world ahead of her.
For now, she is set to re-join the Foton Tornadoes, who are gearing up for the semifinals of the 2018 Chooks-To-Go PSL Grand Prix. After that, she's finally ready to try her luck abroad, starting with the Korean V-League tryouts that will be held in Italy this May.
"That was really my plan after the UAAP. After the PSL, (I'll try) opportunities outside the country," she revealed.
Santiago can spread her wings overseas, represent the Philippines in international tournaments, and continue to hone her craft in local leagues. Wherever her next journey may bring her, all she wants is to leave an indelible mark that will make her teammates and the country proud.
"People will remember you based on how you presented yourself, your attitude, your personality. I want them to remember me as the real Jaja, based on what they saw from me," she said. "I want to be remembered, not for my height, but for who I really am, for what I did to help the team and the country."