Energy Food and Drink Inc., owner of the original Barako Bull Energy Boosters franchise, had informed the PBA board in March 2011 that they intend to fold, citing the plan to shift their business strategy due to its ongoing lawsuit against TC Pharmaceuticals Industries Co. and the death of board governor Tony Chua at the height of Tropical Storm Ondoy. Barako Bull had been on leave since the 2011 PBA Commissioner's Cup and was planning to sell the franchise to Phoenix Petroleum Philippines, Inc., the sponsor of the league's games outside Metro Manila. On the PBA board meeting, the board disallowed the sale of the franchise to Phoenix, failing to get at least two-thirds of the ten board members, although they allowed Barako Bull to stay on leave until the 2011 PBA Governors Cup. In June 2011, Barako Bull informed the PBA it intended to sell its franchise to the Lina Group of Companies, owner of the Air21 Express franchise, reportedly for 50 million pesos. In July 2011, the board approved Barako Bull's sale to Airfreight 2100, while deferring the new franchise's concession that might be given to the team to improve its roster. Air21's Manny Alvarez mentioned that the second Lina Group franchise will be named "Shopinas.com", named after its new company that focuses into e-commerce, and that the new team's representative would be Shiela Lina, who is then forming the team's coaching staff.
After a disappointing finish in the Philippine Cup, the Lina Group decided to rename the franchise as the Air21 Express, the name that was previously carried by their sister team, Barako Bull Energy. Before the Commissioner's Cup started, the team traded Mark Canlas, Dennis Daa, and a 2012 first round pick to the Meralco Bolts in exchange for bigmen Nelbert Omolon and Mark Isip. The team had signed SMART-Gilas player Marcus Douthit as their import for the Commissioner's Cup. Despite having Douthit as import, the team failed to pass through the elimination round, only finishing with a 3–6 record. After years of failed campaigns, Air 21 led by 42-year-old Asi Taulava qualified for the 2014 PBA Commissioner's Cup quarterfinals and defeated the second-seeded San Miguel Beermen twice in a row to enter the PBA semifinals for the first time in franchise history. However, they were beaten by the eventual champions San Mig Super Coffee Mixers in their semifinals series that extended to a Game 5.
In March 2014, the Manila North Tollways Corporation, together with Ever Bilena Cosmetics, Inc. and Columbian Autocar Corporation, applied for an expansion franchise in the PBA. Their respective applications were approved by the PBA board of governors on March 7, 2014. While Kia and Blackwater have paid the franchise fee set by the league, MNTC requested for an extension, as they were studying whether to enter the PBA as an expansion team or acquire an existing PBA franchise. This is due to the limited concessions given by the league to the expansion teams, namely the "protect 12" policy for the expansion draft, no direct hires or carry-over players from their PBA D-League teams, and the 11th to 16th pick in the upcoming rookie draft. On June 17, 2014, MNTC announced that it was having negotiations with a PBA team to acquire their franchise. Due to the ongoing Governors' Cup playoffs, MNTC did not identify the team they were negotiating with, but stated it will reveal the team's identity once the team was eliminated. Days later, the team was revealed to be Air21 Express. On June 23, 2014, an agreement was reached between MNTC and the Lina Group of Companies regarding the sale of the Air21 Express PBA franchise to MNTC. The sale was approved during the regular monthly meeting of the board of governors, paving the way for the sale of the franchise to MNTC.
Final roster
Season-by-season records
one-game playoffs
*team had the twice-to-beat advantage
Retired numbers
– retired on December 18, 2013. Meneses wore #18 during his stint for the Swift/Sunkist/Pop Cola franchise from 1993 to 1999. He played for the old FedEx/Air21 franchise from 2002 to 2004, wearing jersey #8.
