Sisters Dindin Santiago-Manabat (left) and Jaja Santiago. —PVL
Their destination couldn’t be more different. Dindin Santiago-Manabat is finding his way back to playing abroad. Alyssa Valdez is finding her way back to competition.
One thing that is common between the two stars? They are in no hurry.
Despite sources revealing that South Korea opened the door for Santiago-Manabat to a foreign club Wednesday, the 29-year-old star said she is only focused on honoring her contract with the new Volleyball League team. English Premier League (PVL), Akari. and was a positive influence on her younger teammates.
“I will honor my contract and stay focused [on Akari],” she said in Filipino. “And then we’ll see if my offer to go abroad goes through.”
Santiago-Manabat has confirmed that she has received offers from abroad but has not revealed the name of the club or the country it is based in. She said that competing overseas was still a “50-50” option for now but she applied. documents required to qualify to play in the unnamed tournament.
“I will not close the door to play abroad. But for now, I want to focus on helping my Akari family first,” she said.
Santiago-Manabat will mentor Akari heavily, which will feature young stars like Trisha Genesis, Erika Raagas, Lycha Ebon, Michelle Cobb, Jaja Maraguinot and Dani Ravena.
The former outstanding player of the U national team played in the Japanese V.League for Toray Arrows in 2018 and for Kurobe AquaFairies the following year. She also briefly played for Nakhon Ratchasima, teaming with Mylene Paat at the 2022 Thailand Volleyball Championship.
Develop
Meanwhile, in a social media post, Valdez revealed that her recovery from a right knee injury still has “a long way to go, but slow progress is progress” in the face of efforts to maintain her right knee. Maintain Creamline’s title in the 2023 All-Philippines PVL Conference, which opens next week at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The three-time MVP shared a series of photos of her ongoing therapy on Instagram, saying she was limited to rehab exercises while watching Cool Smashers work out.
“I was terrified when I took that first step, the one leg squat and many other exercises. Grasp!! Just grateful to everyone who has supported and helped me—my doctors, [physical therapist] and my Cool Smashers family,” Valdez wrote Tuesday.
Valdez injured her right knee on December 10 last year when she slammed the floor during Creamline’s bronze medal win over Chery Tiggo in the 2022 Strengthening Conference.
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