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 Bonifacio "Bonnie" Garcia. During the 2004 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 Garcia was replaced by legendary coach Joe Lipa. Meneses was then shipped to the Red Bull Barako during the off season 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 Filipino mentor of the Indonesian national team Bong Ramos. 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. 2005–2009: Air21 Express During the off season, the Express renamed the team to the Air21 Express after FedEx left the country. Ramos resigned at season's end due to his failure to imply the team's policy. However, many believed that there were other reasons for his resignation. Former Laguna Lakers head coach Bo Perasol was named as the replacement. In the 2005 PBA Draft, 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 was 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