V.League: Jaja Santiago, Saitama stun league-leading Toray
Jaja Santiago with the Saitama Ageo Medics in the Japan V.League. SAITAMA PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Jaja Santiago delivered 12 points as Saitama took down Toray, 22-25, 25-16, 25-15, 19-25, 15-12, in Japan V.League Women’s Division 1 on Wednesday at Yokooji Sports Park Gymnasium in Kyoto.
Santiago drilled eight of her 16 spike attempts and nailed four blocks to help the Ageo Medics score another upset against the league leaders
Brazilian Lorenne Teixeira led Saitama with 22 points built on 19 attacks, two blocks and an ace. Mami Uchiseto was also instrumental with 21 markers, while Kyoko Aoyagi and Aki Meguro added 11.
Saitama climbed to fifth place with an improved 18-13 win record after repeating its five-set win over Toray last February.
The Arrows dropped to 25-7 still in the top place.
Jana Kulan’s 29-point explosion went for naught. Mayu Ishikawa and Yoshino Nishikawa had 18 and 12 markers, respectively.
Santiago and Co. will play their last two games of the season against Himeji this weekend.
Meanwhile, Marck Espejo scored 12 points but FC Tokyo absorbed a 22-25, 19-25, 25-21, 20-25 loss to the Sakai Blazers in the men’s division at Nippon Steel Gymnasium.
Espejo, who struggled and played limited minutes in the past games, played efficiently, hitting nine of his 13 attack attempts and had three blocks but Tokyo slid to 9-25 still in the eighth place.
Sharon Vernon Evans and Naoya Takano led the Blazers’ balanced attack with 16 points each. Yoshikiko Matsumoto contributed 13 markers, while Yuki Higuchi added 12 to help their team improve to 24-10, tying third placer Panasonic Panthers.
Espejo and Tokyo will wrap up their season against JT Hiroshima over the weekend.
