The Chery Tiggo Crossovers that stunned the Premier Volleyball League in 2021 and the squad now clawing its way through the 2025 preseason PVL On Tour may look like two completely different rosters. But to Jaja Santiago, there’s a familiar thread tying both Finals runs together.
Carrying the Japanese name Sachi Minowa, Santiago has become a fixture in the SV.League, racking up Best Middle Blocker honors and building a career overseas.
But in the Philippines, her name will forever be linked to that breakthrough summer in Bacarra, when she powered Chery Tiggo past Creamline in a three-game thriller to clinch the league’s first-ever professional championship. She was the Finals MVP then, the face of a team that made history.
Four years later, Santiago is no longer on the floor for the Crossovers. Instead, she’s in the stands, watching, cheering, and smiling at the next generation trying to carve out their own legacy. Only three of her former teammates — Shaya Adorador, Jasmine Nabor, and Mylene Paat — remain from that 2021 title squad. And yet, Santiago insists the similarities between that championship run and this year’s Cinderella surge are too striking to ignore.
“I think the similarity is we lost a lot of games also before nung journey namin to the Finals,” Santiago reflected on Tuesday, after Chery Tiggo dispatched Cignal in four sets at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. “Also, we are not that connected to each other pero towards the end, nakuha namin yung chemistry ng bawat isa. Kunwari yung isa is nawawala sa laro, paano namin sila hihilahin?”
The numbers back her up. In 2021, the Crossovers stumbled early, sitting at 3-2 before turning on the jets — stringing together four straight wins to secure a 7-2 slate and a semis berth. They swept Choco Mucho, then toppled Creamline in a Finals series that became an instant classic.
The 2025 version has traveled a bumpier, yet eerily familiar, path. Also starting 3-2, Chery Tiggo had to survive the knockout rounds, outlasting the Galeries Highrisers and then pulling off a shocker over the higher-seeded Nxled Chameleons to punch their ticket back to the semifinals. The Crossover grit that defined 2021 was suddenly alive again.
This time, Santiago points to the team’s blend of youth and veterans as the heartbeat of the rally. “Ngayon yung mga past few games ng Chery, I saw yung younger players [then] sila Tyang Aby sila yung parang nagli-lift, nagmi-make ng connection sa loob ng court, which is really good,” she said.
“Yun yung kailangan namin eh, yung koneksyon and kung sino yung magpu-push doon sa mga players, sa amin na tapusin yung laro kasi minsan naa-out of focus or nai-intimidate yung ibang players.”
It’s been nine long conferences since Chery Tiggo last stood on the podium. That drought will officially end this weekend. The question is whether the Crossovers can complete the circle — and just like in 2021, turn their unlikely run into gold.
For Santiago, there’s only one message left to send. “I’m very happy and very proud sa kanila dahil after four years, ito, nasa Finals na ulit kami. And tulad nga ng sabi ko sa kanila, don’t settle for less and huwag natin hayaan na matapos yung season na we regret something.”
Her words carry the weight of experience, but also the fire of a champion unwilling to see history wasted. “Sabi ko dapat until Finals we work harder, we push harder, we do everything that we can. Kailangan talagang go for it, win the Finals.”
