Bagunas, Santiago, Espejo, deliver wins for clubs in Japan volleyball league

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Filipino volleyball imports Bryan Bagunas, Marck Espejo, and Jaja Santiago earned huge wins in their respective matches in the Japanese professional league.

The high-flying Bagunas stole the limelight after leading Oita Miyoshi in a classic head-to-head victory against powerhouse Panasonic squad, 35-33, 21-25, 26-24, 18-25, 16-14.

Bagunas was unstoppable and punished Panasonic’s middle blockers as he poured in 28 huge points, one of his best performances as an Asian import in his V. League Division 1 men’s stint.

Aside from his game-high points tally, Bagunas also displayed an efficient offensive performance of 62.5 % attack rate, successfully spiking 25 out of his 40 attempts.

Meanwhile, Santiago and the Saitama volleyball club dispatched Kurobe in just four sets, 25-20, 22-25, 25-23, 25-19 in the V. League Division 1 women’s tournament.

Santiago had an all-around performance in the win after blocking the ball five times while recording 16 kills.

The Filipina’s consistent defensive wizardry earned her the no. 2 spot in the season’s block leaders behind Natsumi Watabiki.

Meanwhile, Espejo and FC Tokyo defeated VC Nagano, 26-24, 25-14, 22-25, 25-14.

Despite Espejo’s limited minutes, his team was able to pull off the much-needed victory in an attempt to break their three-game losing streak.