UNFINISHED business.

That was the feeling of Sachi Minowa after coming short of helping the Creamline Cool Smashers bring home a trophy in the PVL Invitational where her short stint ended up with a heartbreaking fourth place finish.

“Maybe, maybe,” said Ms. Minowa, or Jaja Santiago, moments after the Cool Smashers succumbed to the PLDT High Speed Hitters in a four-set duel of their battle for third place.

Thailand’s Est Cola topped the short but sweet tournament while Nxled came in second.

But it could have been Creamline.

Ms. Minowa will leave for the United States to play for the San Francisco Signal in the LOVB Pro, or League One Volleyball, where she will carry not just the things she learned while playing for the 11-time PVL champion but also that one trophy that got away.

She is not in a hurry though as she will just let time heal the pain of their recent failure where they were expected to challenge for the crown, or at the very least, snare a podium finish.

But it just wasn’t meant to be.

“I think I will focus on taking it step by step and try to perform first in San Francisco before anything else,” said Ms. Minowa. “After that, we’ll see if I go back here.”

The lure of returning to the country of her birth was just hard to resist especially with that motivation of delivering on a promise and the love the whole Creamline team had shown to her.

“They’re my family right now. I feel like I have unfinished business with them,” she said. — Joey Villar

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