Alyja Daphne Santiago was presented the ticket on Friday
Manila, Philippines, July 22, 2016 – Alyja Daphne Santiago of Foton has been named as the fifth member of the PSL All Star team that will compete in the FIVB Volleyball Women’s Club World Championship from October 18-23.
Santiago, a 195cm-tall middle blocker, was awarded the golden ticket by PSL president Ramon Suzara and chairman Philip Ella Juico at the Crimson Hotel on Friday, during the official launch of the Foton squad that will compete at the Asian Women’s Club Championship.
Suzara said the 20-year-old Santiago deserves the spot in the PSL All-Star team for being one of the very few Filipino players who has a deadly combination of talent, height, length and athleticism.
In fact, with Santiago manning the middle, Foton took last year’s PSL Grand Prix by storm en route to winning the crown.
“She’s young, she’s athletic, she’s talented and overflowing with potential,” said Suzara, noting that the sixth and seventh slots in the prestigious team will be a wide-open race for the remaining nominees from all eight PSL teams.
“We’re so glad to have Jaja on board. We expect her to gain massive experience playing against the best players in the world and serving as our country’s cornerstone in future major international tournaments.”
Santiago said that it was an honour to make the team, especially since she will be playing alongside Rachel Anne Daquis and Jovelyn Gonzaga of Petron, Kim Fajardo of F2 Logistics, Jennylyn Reyes of Petron and seven foreign reinforcements.
“This is a big boost to my volleyball career,” Santiago said. “I’m so thankful and blessed that the PSL trusted me to be part of the team. I will do my best to come up with a good performance and make our country proud.”
The PSL All-Star team will face seven elite clubs such as Rexona-Sesc of Brazil, Volero Zürich of Switzerland, Pomì Casalmaggiore of Italy, Hisamitsu Springs of Japan, Bangkok Glass of Thailand, as well as VakifBank Istanbul and Eczacibasi VitrA Istanbul of Turkey.