Marksman Dondon Hontiveros reached a career milestone Sunday after nailing his 800th triple to help slumping Air21 pick up its first win after the jarring seven player trade that sent him to the Express.

The Cebuano hotshot racked up a bulk of those triples--some game-changing ones--in a Beermen jersey, so it's quite a jolt to write his name in the history books with another squad.

"It's a different feeling (that I achieved it as an Express) but it only means that I have more to look forward to," said Hontiveros, who made history at the 10:51 mark of the opening period in the 94-92 victory against Rain or Shine.

"I was excited going here (at Araneta Coliseum.) I knew that I was going to get it today, but it's even better because we won," he added.

Hontiveros joined the short and illustrious list of shooters who have achieved such feat: Allan Caidic, who holds the record of 1, 242 triples made in the PBA, Ronnie Magsanoc, Al Solis and Talk N Text guard Jimmy Alapag.

And Hontiveros, who changed his longtime jersey number 7 to 24, knows he can pile up more of those long bombs.

"The goal is to come near Coach Allan (Caidic's) record, because what he did was hard," said Hontiveros, who is hoping he could reach up to at least a thousand triples in his career.

The Express, who went on to lose four straight after the trade before blasting Rain or Shine, are starting to appear a more cohesive unit---with Hontiveros as one of their vital pieces.

Hontiveros has been averaging 16 points in the last four games of Air21.

"I can't say we are as cohesive as we want to be. Parts of the game (we did gel), but in the entire game, not yet."

"I'm just happy we got through the hump. We are excited because we are now back in the game," he finished.

Celest Flores, Phil. Daily Inquirer