to their company's role in fast-paced delivery. In the 2001 PBA Draft, the Express held 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 denied Adducul's request for a release. With this, FedEx nabbed Saint Francis of Assisi College System 6-foot-9 center Yancy de Ocampo as their first-ever pick as a PBA team. Also in the first round, the Express landed De La Salle University star Renren Ritualo with the eight pick. Jerry Codiñera 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 between Hawkins and the FedEx management. The former Perpetual Help standout wanted to have the same terms of the salary he held with Tanduay while the FedEx management was basing the contract on a written one. In the end, Hawkins was released and 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 their imports. The Express made it to the quarterfinals of the Governor's Cup but was quickly eliminated. In the Commissioner's 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 Ginebra. In the All-Filipino, FedEx again 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 in the elimination round of the All-Filipino Cup. In the quarterfinals, the Express failed to enter the semis after finishing last place of the single-round robin quarterfinals phase. Their performance in the All-Filipino earned the team an early