And in only his second year in the league, he achieved a rare Grand Slam with the Aces where he was instrumental in that majestic championship run, scoring the winning free throws in the All-Filipino Cup final against the Purefoods Hotdogs.

[1] Before the start of the 1997 PBA season, Cariaso was traded to the Mobiline Phone Pals (now known as the TNT Tropang Texters) where he was a primary offensive threat for the team.

They won a couple of championships which include the 2002 All-Filipino Cup against his former team Alaska and the 2003 Reinforced Conference against San Miguel.

In the middle of the 2004–05 PBA season, he along with Reynel Hugnatan were traded back to the Alaska Aces in exchange for all-stars John Arigo and Ali Peek.

At San Mig, he emerged as the top assistant, often taking over the reins when Cone was ejected, or when the team was getting blown out and the American coach wanted to send a message to his players.

He still has one year and two conferences left in his contract, which was bought out, paving the way to his return to Alaska as assistant coach and camp director.