From a successful college career with the De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Archers, Cardona was taken fifth overall by Air21 Express in the 2005 PBA draft.

Despite several controversies and allegations, primarily regarding his residency and eligibility, Cardona went on to win the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Rookie of the Year award with the Green Archers in 2001.

After ICTSI's departure from the league, Cardona joined Harbour Centre in the 2005 PBL Unity Cup, where he was named MVP of the conference.

Despite a slow start in his rookie season, Cardona played significant minutes under Derrick Pumaren who replaced Joel Banal as the team's head coach.

In his sophomore year in the league, with a career-high of 38 points - resetting his previous 30+ career outputs three times within two weeks - Cardona proved to be every bit the explosive player that he is.

In November 2008, Cardona once again reset his career statistics by tallying 42 points together with 6 rebounds to propel Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters over the Red Bull Barako.

With his relationship with live-in partner Bianca reportedly on the rocks, he allegedly took a huge amount of prescription pills which he even posted on his Instagram account, which was later deleted.