MANILA, Philippines – Former PVL Finals MVP and Petro Gazz Angels star import Janisa Johnson has died after a colon cancer battle, the league announced on Tuesday, June 4. She was 32.
Back in 2019, the American standout led Petro Gazz to its first-ever championship after beating the mighty Creamline Cool Smashers in the Reinforced Conference.
Since Johnson’s breakthrough campaign with the Angels, the team has been a standard of excellence in the fast-growing PVL, winning one more championship in 2022, three silver medals, and two bronzes.
In 2018, she was instrumental in helping shape Philippine volleyball’s future stars even for a short while, as her stint with Balipure got her up close with eventual two-time UAAP MVP Bella Belen, eventual Finals MVP Alyssa Solomon, Ivy Lacsina, and current national team members Faith Nisperos and Jen Nierva.
Following the announcement of her passing, multiple volleyball stars joined the outpouring of condolences on social media, including Solomon, Nierva, Kalei Mau, and her former Petro Gazz teammates Djanel Cheng and Jonah Sabete.
Since leaving the Philippines, Johnson flexed her skills in other volleyball hotbeds like Poland, before her life took a difficult turn with her cancer diagnosis in 2021.
Until the end, Johnson was a symbol of hope and positivity, not only for other volleyball players like herself, but for other cancer warriors who go through the admirable fight to see another day. – Rappler.com