Everything about The Air21 Express totally explained
The
Air21 Express is a
Philippine Basketball Association team that began in 2002.
Air21 is owned by Airfreight 2100, a subsidiary of the Lina Group of Companies, owners of the defunct
Laguna Lakers of the
Metropolitan Basketball Association. The franchise bought the former
Tanduay team after the
2001 season.
From its first season until 2005, the team was dubbed as the
FedEx Express before changing to its current name a season later.
History
Tanduay Rhum Masters
The
Tanduay Rhum Masters made its PBA return in the
1999 season, after a 12-year hiatus. This time, the team had a new ownership of
Asia Brewery of
Lucio Tan's son, Bong (The Tanduay team in the 1970's and 80's was owned by the great Elizalde family). After a runner-up finish in the 1999 All-Filipino Conference, the Rhum Masters failed to advanced the finals since. To add insult, the deportation of alleged
fil-sham Sonny Alvarado and the indefinite suspensions of Eric Menk and Rudy Hatfield (due to lack of documents to prove themselves as a legitimate Fil-American), the management became frustrated.
After the 2001 season, the firesale began as Tanduay traded Dondon Hontiveros to
San Miguel, Jeffrey Cariaso to the new
Coca Cola franchise and Menk to
Barangay Ginebra. After this, Tanduay sold its franchise of the
Bert Lina and the local franchisee of
FedEx for a reported sum of
PHP 60-75 million.
Technically, the old Tanduay franchise and the current Air21 team's lineage were pulled apart as did most of the other PBA teams (Tanduay/Purefoods, Crispa/Shell, et al.).
Laguna Lakers
In
1998, the
Metropolitan Basketball Association was formed as a professional regional basketball league. The
Laguna Lakers was one of the 12 original teams in the league with Lina and FedEx owning it.
The Lakers failed to enter the finals in both the 1998 and 1999 seasons. Laguna also added Fil-Americans Rudy Hatfield, Jeff Flowers and Cris Clay to their roster. Biboy Simon, future Air21
point guard Wynne Arboleda and Jovy Sese also played for the Lakers, Simon was known for his 54 point outing during an MBA game.
In
2000, the Lakers advanced to the finals of the special Intra-Conference tournament but lost to the
San Juan Knights. In 2001, they also failed to advanced to the National championship.
After the sale of Tanduay to FedEx, the Lakers abandoned the league to concentrate on their PBA stint.
There is absolutely no lineage between the Laguna Lakers' MBA franchise and the current PBA franchise despite having the same owners.
2002-2005: FedEx Express
After the purchase, they named the team as the
FedEx Express. The Express monicker was used as a reference to their company's role in fast-paced delivery.
In the
2002 PBA Draft, the Express hold the first overall pick in the draft. Initially, the FedEx expressed its desire to draft MBA star Rommel Adducul, but his MBA team the
Batangas Blades deny Adducul's request of a release. With this, FedEx nabbed St Francis of Assisi center Yancy de Ocampo as the first pick in the draft. Also in the first round, the Express landed
De La Salle University star Renren Ritualo with the eight pick. Jerry Codinera was also added to the team along with a few holdovers from Tanduay.
Many-time amateur and commercial league champion coach Derrick Pumaren was named as the first head coach of the FedEx team. He was the last coach of the Tanduay franchise in the PBA before it was absorbed by FedEx.
Former Tanduay forward Bong Hawkins was among those absorbed by the FedEx franchise in
2002. However, a controversy sparked Hawkins and FedEx management. The former
Perpetual Help standout wanted to have the same terms of the salary he held with Tanduay while FedEx management was basing the contract on a written one. In the end, Hawkins eventually joined Coca-Cola in
2003.
FedEx's first-ever match was an opening game against the
Coca Cola Tigers which they lost. At that time, Ritualo was loaned the RP National pool. The Express also added Bong Alvarez in the lineup. along with Jermaine Walker as one of the imports. The Express made it to the quarterfinals of the Governors Cup but was quickly eliminated. In the Commissioners Cup, Ritualo made his much-awaited debut with FedEx but the Express once again failed to enter past the semis. Alvarez left the team for the
Talk N' Text Phone Pals, but acquired the services of Vergel Meneses from
Barangay Ginebra. In the All-Filipino, FedEx failed to enter the quarterfinals of the tournament.
Ritualo was named as the Rookie of the Year after the season, to spark a promising future for the team.
In
2003, the Express nabbed former MBA
MVP John Ferriols in the draft. The Express finished with an impressive second place finish in the elimination round of the All-Filipino Cup. In the quarterfinals, the Express failed to enter the semis after finishing in last place of the single-round robin quarterfinals phase.
Their performance in the All-Filipino, earned the team an early entry to the PBA Invitational tournament. The Express placed third in the special tournament, earning the team its first trophy in the league.
In the Reinforced Conference, the Express bannered Terrence Shannon as import. However, in the opening round they were eliminated by
San Miguel. During the said tournament, Pumaren was fired and was replaced by former Lakers coach Bonnie Garcia.
During the
2004 PBA Draft, FedEx nabbed three picks in the first round with Marc Pingris, Ranidel de Ocampo and Wesley Gonzales. In the Fiesta Conference, the Express ended up in ninth place and was eliminated by the
Talk N' Text Phone Pals in the Wild-Card phase. A coaching change also happened when Garcial was replaced by legendary coach Joe Lipa.
Meneses was shipped to
Red Bull Barako during the offseason for Homer Se and a draft pick.
In the
2004-
2005 Philippine Cup, the Express once again finished fourth in the classification phase and was eliminated early by the
Alaska Aces.
Lipa resigned after the tournament and was replaced by former
Indonesian national team mentor Bong Ramos (a Filipino). They also fielded former
NBA veteran Oliver "Pig" Miller for the Fiesta Conference.
The Express finished fifth in the classification phase. It was highlighted by Renren Ritualo's eight three pointers in a quarter during a game. However, in the Wild-Card phase, they were eliminated by
Purefoods.
Air21 Express
During the offseason, the Express renamed the team as the
Air21 Express, when
FedEx left the country. Ramos resigned at season's end, due to his failure to imply the team's policy. However, many believe that there were other reasons for the resignation.
Former Laguna Lakers head coach Bo Perasol was named as the replacement. Air21 had three picks in the first round. They nabbed PBL star Anthony Washington as the first pick and
De La Salle University star
Mark Cardona as the fifth pick overall. But, the Express traded Washington and Cardona in separate deals to Talk 'N Text for Yancy de Ocampo and Patrick Fran, respectively, amid criticisms by various people. The other pick went to
University of the East star Niño Canaleta.
But Air21 made a strong showing in the
2005-2006 Fiesta Conference. With Perasol as coach and bulky import Shawn Daniels at the helm, the Express surprised everyone with several upsets against Talk 'N Text and San Miguel to finish fourth in the classification phase. Air21 eliminated San Miguel in the wildcard phase and upset the Phone Pals in a five-game quarterfinals affair. However, in six games they were eliminated by Purefoods in the semi-finals. At the end of the conference, Air21 defeated the
Barangay Ginebra Kings to capture third place in the tournament.
In the Philippine Cup, the Express acquired Mark Telan from the
Talk N' Text Phone Pals for John Ferriols. On May 8, the team traded its franchise player Ritualo to the Talk 'N Text Phone Pals for Leo Avenido and two future first round picks. Some basketball fans see this trade as another rebuilding mode for the team while others speculate about a potential cost-cutting for the Express for its impending disbandment although there's no accuracy of this possibility.
However, since the Ritualo trade, the Express went 3-1 the rest of the classification phase to finish with a 7-9 record. The surge saw the improvement of Air21 rookie Canaleta, who had multiple 30-point games during the streak. However, the Express failed to beat the Coca-Cola Tigers in a one game playoff for the third outright quarterfinals berth. The loss relegated Air21 in a round-robin wildcard phase. In the deciding game, Ginebra beat the Express, 118-114 in overtime, to eliminate them from contention.
2006-07 season
In the offseason, the Express acquired Aries Dimaunahan and Ervin Sotto from the Ginebra as part of a huge three-team trade along with the Coca-Cola Tigers. In the
2006 PBA Draft, Air21 selected
Arwind Santos of the
FEU Tamaraws and the PBL's Magnolia Ice Cream with the second overall pick. Stephen Padilla and Bruce Dacia's contract were not renewed by the team.
After a so-so performance at the Philippine Cup, the Express eked out a 7-11 record, good enough for a return trip to the wildcard phase. Needing to sweep all of the games in order to force a playoff for a quarterfinal berth, the Express defeated all wildcard teams. In the elimination game against Sta. Lucia, the Express came up short as they were beaten 121-118 via overtime.
Before the start of the wildcard phase, Air21 sent Yancy de Ocampo and Leo Avenido to Talk N Text for rookies Mark Andaya and Abby Santos plus future draft picks.
Air21 had talks with former Senator and the PBA's Living Legend
Robert Jaworski to either accept a capacity within the team or as head coach before his beg prior to the start of the Fiesta Conference.
Still, the Express finished with a 10-8 record for fifth place in the standings with Shawn Daniels as import. At one point, Air21 was 7-3 before losing five of their last eight games, before beating San Miguel in a one-game playoff for the third outright quarterfinals berth.
The
Talk N' Text Phone Pals defeated them in the quarters in a full three-game series, despite the Express' Game 1 victory.
2007-08 season
The offseason saw Air21 taking Ateneo teammates
JC Intal and
Doug Kramer selected in the first round while nabbing
Marvin Cruz in the final round of the
2007 PBA Draft.
The buzz about Jaworski coaching the team once again came to light but the 'Living Legend' hasn't made any decision on it. This kept Perasol as its head coach for the 2007-08 season. The Express had a rocky
2007-08 PBA Philippine Cup, finishing the elimination round with a 7-11 record tied for 8th (they were eventually seeded 8th since they've beaten team they're tied with, the
Coca-Cola Tigers, in the elimination round twice).
In the ensuing wildcard phase, the Express eliminated the defending champions
Barangay Ginebra Kings, thanks to
Wynne Arboleda's career-high 32 points. However, they were beaten by the Tigers in the last wildcard round to be eliminated from contention.
Current roster
Current depth chart
Players of note
Other notable players
Bong Alvarez - played for FedEx in 2002
Yancy de Ocampo - played for FedEx/Air21 franchise from 2002-2003, 2005-2006; team's first-ever draft choice and had two stints with the team.
Dindo Pumaren (San Beda) - played his last PBA season with FedEx in 2002
Ren-Ren Ritualo (La Salle) - played for FedEx/Air21 franchise from 2002-2006; currently holds almost every team records such as total points
Imports
Shawn Daniels - led Air21 to a third-place finish in the 2005-06 Fiesta Conference
Alvin Jefferson - known for breaking the Araneta Coliseum backboard in a preseason game but played only two games in the 2004 Fiesta Conference
Franz Pierre-Louis - played for FedEx in the 2002 Commissioners Cup
Anthony 'Pig' Miller - played for FedEx in the 2005 Fiesta Conference
Roderick Rhodes - one of the first two imports in team history
Geremy Robinson - played as a replacement import for one game
Terrence Shannon - played for FedEx in the 2003 Reinforced Conference
Jermaine Walker - played for FedEx in the 2002 season
Coaches
Derrick Pumaren (2002-2003)
Bonnie Garcia (2003-2004)
Joe Lipa (2004-2005)
Bong Ramos (2005)
Bo Perasol (2005-Present)Further Information
Get more info on 'Air21 Express'.
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