Jaja Santiago was called by the Japan women's national volleyball team to participate as a trainee.
Looking good, Jaja!
The Philippines' star middle blocker Jaja Santiago, fresh from her silver medal stint with JT Marvelous in the Japan V.League, continues to get valuable knowledge and experience as she trains with the Japan women's national volleyball team.
Santiago, wearing black, was spotted in a photoshoot along with the squad as posted on Friday.
Recall that Santiago was called up last month to participate as a trainee, alongside Cuban Melissa Valdez of the PFU Bluecats.
"She'll join the Japan national team training camp. She hasn't [gone] naturalization yet, but this opportunity [is a] really big step for her dream. Welcome to [the] Japan national team," Santiago's husband and Japanese coach Taka Minowa earlier posted on X (formerly known as Twitter).
[ALSO READ: Jaja Santiago receives Japan national team training camp call-up]
The photoshoot is part of the Japan Volleyball Association's push to rebrand the national teams. Some of these changes include the emblem and the uniforms.
Japan is aiming to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics by doing well in the Volleyball Nations League (VNL).
"In order to win the ticket to participate in the Paris Olympics, which is our biggest goal this year, we want to combine our individual strengths and fight as a team. We hope that many people will have their backs at the Nations League Fukuoka tournament," said captain Sarina Koga in a JVA release.
Five spots in the Paris 2024 Olympics are still up for grabs.
These will be determined by the end of the preliminary phase of the 2024 Volleyball Nations League in June.
To prepare, the Japanese women's national team will travel to the United States later this month. By May, they will hold a training camp in Turkey before kicking off the VNL against the host team.
The top five countries in the World Ranking by the end of the VNL preliminaries--taking into consideration teams from continents without qualified squads so far--will secure their Olympic berths.
Already qualified for Paris are France, Dominican Republic, Serbia, Turkey, Brazil, United States, and Poland.