MANILA, Philippines – The Jaja Santiago era in National University (NU) ended quietly on Sunday, with the Lady Bulldogs meekly bowing out of the UAAP Season 80 women's volleyball Final 4.

Against a veteran De La Salle University team, the Lady Bulldogs blew their chances in the first and second sets, then all but surrendered in the third frame. The Lady Spikers claimed a 27-25, 25-22, 25-11 win to march to the finals and end NU's campaign.

Santiago, who at her best is the most dominant player in the UAAP, was not even on the floor in the closing rallies of the game. Instead, the 6-foot-4 spiker sat on the bench, watching as her teammates folded against the Lady Spikers.

"Gusto ko na pumasok ulit," Santiago admitted after the game.
"(Gusto ko) hingin ng hingin kay (setter) Jasmine (Nabor) 'yung bola, na kahit padulo na ng game, ibibigay ko 'yung best ko."

"Kahit na we fell short sa game namin kanina, pero 'yun – gustong-gusto kong pumasok at ipaglaban ang team ko," she added.

In some ways, the final rallies of her UAAP career encapsulated Santiago's time in NU. She scored 17 points in the game, but it was not enough as her teammates repeatedly fell short. And in the end, she was helpless when Audrey Paran sent her last attack straight to the tape of the net.

That final attack error – NU's 18th miscue of the game – sent the La Salle side into frenzied celebration. They had, after all, advanced to the finals for the 10th season in a row. Santiago, meanwhile, stood up from the NU bench, took a brief second to gather herself, before joining her teammates in the middle of the court.

The NU captain was seen encouraging her teammates, before eventually succumbing to her own emotions. It had been a roller-coaster of a season for Santiago and the Lady Bulldogs – one that saw them start on the highest of highs, winning six of their first seven games.

It ended on the lowest possible note, as NU went 1-6 in the second round, with their lone win coming against University of the East. Yes, they still managed to sneak into the Final 4, which they could not get done in the past two seasons. But once there, the Lady Bulldogs faltered once again.

"'Yung team na ito, itong last (na team), dito ko na-feel na sobrang dami naming na pala naming napag-daanan, pinaghirapan," said Santiago after the game.

"Iba ang season na ito para sa amin. Ang dami naming mas nakilala, mas maraming natutunan sa bawat isa, na kahit alam mo 'yung minsan, naiinis na siya sa'yo, sabihin mo lang, okay na," she added.

"Kung may babalik-balikan man ako sa limang taon ko, itong last playing year ko."

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Santiago insists that she has no regrets about her UAAP career. She had turned down many opportunities abroad – including an offer from NCAA Division 1 powerhouse University of California, Los Angeles before her freshman year, and one from Bangkok Glass ahead of Season 80 – to stay with NU, and she believes it was all worth it.

"Sabi ng nila, kung ano pinagdesisyunan mo… kumbaga, no regrets, kasi ginusto mo 'yun eh," said Santiago.

"At hindi naman nakasama sa akin. Actually, napabuti pa, kasi na-prepare ako sa mga susunod na opportunities sa akin, and pinakita naman sa akin ng teammates ko na deserve talaga 'yung pag-stay ko dito sa NU," she added.

Santiago maintains this, even as she failed to lead the Lady Bulldogs to a championship in the UAAP. Indeed, they never made it to the finals in her five-year stay in NU. The closest they came was in Season 76, when a rookie Santiago teamed up with older sister Dindin to lead the Lady Bulldogs to the second seed.

But they ran into the Alyssa Valdez-led Ateneo de Manila University in the step-ladder semifinals. NU famously squandered a twice-to-beat advantage in that series, and became a footnote in the Lady Eagles' Cinderella-run to the championship.

The Lady Bulldogs would even miss the Final 4 twice – in Seasons 78 and 79 – despite having a solid roster built around Santiago. Hopes were high for them this year, and for a while they lived up to the hype. But their inexplicable collapse in the second round chipped away at the promise that the team had shown, and by the time the Final 4 rolled around, the Lady Bulldogs were a shell of the squad that had rolled through the first couple of months of the tournament.

"Siyempre, masakit na hindi ko nabigay 'yung championship dito sa NU ngayong aalis na ako," said Santiago.

"Pero somehow, happy kasi all through ng kumbaga, roller coaster ng team na 'to, andito ako at naka-suporta," she added. "Marami akong natutunan sa kanila."

What's next?

Volleyball won't stop for Santiago. She expects to be back in action for her club team, Foton, in the Philippine Superliga (PSL) Grand Prix this week. After that, she hopes to finally grab overseas opportunities that she had previously turned down, including a tryout for a Korean squad.

"Pero bago ko i-take 'yung mga opportunity na 'yun, kailangan ko muna magpahinga at magpa-kundisyon," she also said. "Gusto ko kasi, i-ready ang katawan ko for the opportunity."

Santiago exited the Mall of Asia Arena with her head held high on Sunday, and dealt with the disappointment of the loss the best way she knew how – by bonding with her teammates and coaches over karaoke.

She knows that there will be those who will judge her for her failure to lead NU to the UAAP finals, that there will be those who wonder how a player so tall and overpowering never made it to the championship round.

But Santiago is at peace with what she has done in NU.

"Gusto ko, ma-remember ako ng mga tao, not by my height, pero kung ano ako," she said. "Kung ano man 'yung naitulong ko sa team, sa country."

"Matatandaan ka nila, kung paano mo pinakita ang sarili mo," she added. "Kung ano 'yung attitude na pinakita mo sa kanila, personality na pinakita mo sa kanila."

"Gusto ko, matandaan nila ako as Jaja talaga – kung ano ang nakita nila sa akin."

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