# 2009 PBA Fiesta Conference

The 2009 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Fiesta Conference or known as the 2009 Motolite PBA Fiesta Conference for sponsorship reasons, was the last conference of the 2008-09 PBA season. It started on February 28 and finished on July 17. The tournament was shortened to accommodate the training of the national basketball team for the FIBA Asia Championship 2009 qualifying tournament for the 2010 FIBA World Championship. The last conference had games on Thursdays and Saturdays. The tournament is an import-laden format, which allows an import or a non-Filipino player for each team and with a new height limit of 6-foot-6.
Two teams had new names before the start of the conference: the former Red Bull Barako was now known as the Barako Bull Energy Boosters, and the former Air21 Express were called as the Burger King Titans. However, with the failure of several business deals that would have changed the franchise's upper management, the Titans renamed into the Burger King Whoppers by their seventh game into the conference, retaining their old management headed by the Lina family.

## Format

The following format was observed for the duration of the conference:
* The teams were divided into 2 groups, based on their performance in the 2008–09 PBA Philippine Cup elimination round. Group A are teams that finished the Philippine Cup's elimination round in 1st, 4th, 5th, 8th and 9th positions, while Group B are the 2nd, 3rd, 6th, 7th and 10th.
* Teams in a group will play against each other once and against teams in the other group twice; 14 games per team; Teams are then seeded by basis on win–loss records. Ties are broken among point differentials of the tied teams, except for ties for #2, #5 and #8. Standings will be determined in one league table; teams do not qualify by basis of groupings.
* Wildcard phase:
** WC1: #3 vs. #10, with #3 having the twice-to-beat advantage
** WC2: #4 vs. #9, with #4 having the twice-to-beat advantage
** WC3: #5 vs. #8 in a knockout game
** WC4: #6 vs. #7 in a knockout game
* Best-of-three quarterfinals:
** QF1: WC2 vs. WC3
** QF2: WC1 vs. WC4
* Best-of-seven semifinals:
** SF1: QF1 vs. #1
** SF2: QF2 vs. #2
* Third-place playoff: losers of the semifinals
* Best-of-seven Finals: winners of the semifinals
* This is basically same format used throughout the 2004-05 PBA season, save for WC3 and WC4 were conducted in a best-of-3 series.

## Classification round

The May 17 game between the Barangay Ginebra Kings and the Alaska Aces held at the Albay Astrodome in Legaspi was canceled when the playing court was judged as too slippery, with Ginebra leading 9–2, and 8:04 remaining in the first quarter. The game was stopped twice and the stoppages lasted two hours before the game was canceled. The game was restarted at the Araneta Coliseum on May 22.

### Team standings

| Pos | Teamvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Qualification |
| 1 | San Miguel Beermen | 11 | 3 | .786 | — | Advance to semifinals |
| 2 | Barangay Ginebra Kings | 8 | 6 | .571 | 3 | Advance to semifinals |
| 3 | Rain or Shine Elasto Painters | 8 | 6 | .571 | 3 | Twice-to-beat in the wildcard round |
| 4 | Burger King Whoppers | 8 | 6 | .571 | 3 | Twice-to-beat in the wildcard round |
| 5 | Sta. Lucia Realtors | 7 | 7 | .500 | 4 | Knockout in the wildcard round |
| 6 | Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants | 7 | 7 | .500 | 4 | Knockout in the wildcard round |
| 7 | Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters | 7 | 7 | .500 | 4 | Knockout in the wildcard round |
| 8 | Coca-Cola Tigers | 6 | 8 | .429 | 5 | Knockout in the wildcard round |
| 9 | Alaska Aces | 6 | 8 | .429 | 5 | Twice-to-win in the wildcard round |
| 10 | Barako Bull Energy Boosters | 2 | 12 | .143 | 9 | Twice-to-win in the wildcard round |
* 1 2 3 Head-to-head differential: Rain or Shine +15, Barangay Ginebra −7, Burger King −8; second seed playoff: Barangay Ginebra 114–71 Rain or Shine
* 1 2 3 Head-to-head differential: Sta. Lucia +7, Purefoods +3, Talk 'N Text −10
* 1 2 Eighth seed playoff: Coca-Cola 81–74 Alaska

### Results

* Results above and to the left of the gray boxes are first round games; those below and to the right are second round games.
| Team | ALA | BBE | BGK | BKW | COKE | PF | ROS | SMB | SLR | TNT |
| Alaska | | 90–92 | 82–81 | 88–106 | 85–89 | 94–84 | 94–96 | 89–93 | 90–100 | 122–124 |
| Barako Bull | 90–100 | | 103–111 | 110–123 | 103–106 | 92–96 | 83–93 | 92–99 | 91–100 | 135–132 |
| Barangay Ginebra | 75–76 | | | 106–110 | 110–103 | 107–105 | 93–107 | 80–95 | 76–80 | 97–90 |
| Burger King | | 99–89 | 94–100 | | 127–109 | 78–82 | 112–118 | 105–114 | 96–84 | 105–118 |
| Coca-Cola | | 120–106 | 85–122 | | | 89–80 | 94–91* | 91–106 | 88–79 | 111–133 |
| Purefoods | 74–80 | | | 86–96 | 92–85 | | 102–94* | 103–122 | 93–91 | 131–121 |
| Rain or Shine | | 103–97 | 89–94 | | | 110–90 | | 95–102 | 100–109 | 96–102 |
| San Miguel | 91–84 | | | 105–107* | 89–105 | | 72–82 | | 92–90 | 98–87 |
| Sta. Lucia | | 98–88 | 98–101 | | | 104–95 | 90–82 | 92–98 | | 106–100 |
| Talk 'N Text | 115–122* | | | 129–135** | 103–00 | | 116–118* | | 97–91 | |

## Eighth seed playoff

* C/S9
* May 24
* 8th seed
* Ynares Center, Antipolo, Rizal

## Second seed playoff

* C/S9
* May 24
* 2nd seed
* Ynares Center, Antipolo, Rizal

## Bracket

| Wildcard phase | Wildcard phase | Wildcard phase | Quarterfinals (Best-of-3) | Quarterfinals (Best-of-3) | Quarterfinals (Best-of-3) | Semifinals (Best-of-7) | Semifinals (Best-of-7) | Semifinals (Best-of-7) | Finals (Best-of-7) | Finals (Best-of-7) | Finals (Best-of-7) |
| (#4 twice to beat) | (#4 twice to beat) | (#4 twice to beat) | | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Burger King | 96 | | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Burger King | 96 | | | | 1 | San Miguel | 4 | | | |
| 9 | Alaska | 90 | | | | 1 | San Miguel | 4 | | | |
| 9 | Alaska | 90 | 4 | Burger King | 2 | 4 | Burger King | 2 | | | |
| (Single-elimination) | (Single-elimination) | (Single-elimination) | 4 | Burger King | 2 | 4 | Burger King | 2 | | | |
| (Single-elimination) | (Single-elimination) | (Single-elimination) | 5 | Sta. Lucia | 1 | | | | | | |
| 5 | Sta. Lucia | 94 | 5 | Sta. Lucia | 1 | | | | | | |
| 5 | Sta. Lucia | 94 | | | | | | | 1 | San Miguel | 4 |
| 8 | Coca-Cola | 88 | | | | | | | 1 | San Miguel | 4 |
| 8 | Coca-Cola | 88 | | | | | | | 2 | Ginebra | 3 |
| (#3 twice to beat) | (#3 twice to beat) | (#3 twice to beat) | | | | | | | 2 | Ginebra | 3 |
| 3 | Rain or Shine | 96 | | | | | | | | | |
| 3 | Rain or Shine | 96 | | | | 2 | Ginebra | 4 | Third place playoff | Third place playoff | Third place playoff |
| 10 | Barako Bull | 88 | | | | 2 | Ginebra | 4 | Third place playoff | Third place playoff | Third place playoff |
| 10 | Barako Bull | 88 | 3 | Rain or Shine | 2 | 3 | Rain or Shine | 2 | | | |
| (Single-elimination) | (Single-elimination) | (Single-elimination) | 3 | Rain or Shine | 2 | 3 | Rain or Shine | 2 | | | |
| (Single-elimination) | (Single-elimination) | (Single-elimination) | 6 | Purefoods | 1 | | | | 4 | Burger King | 132 |
| 6 | Purefoods (2OT) | 126 | 6 | Purefoods | 1 | | | | 4 | Burger King | 132 |
| 6 | Purefoods (2OT) | 126 | | | | | | | 3 | Rain or Shine | 118 |
| 7 | Talk 'N Text | 123 | | | | | | | 3 | Rain or Shine | 118 |
* view
* talk

## Wildcard phase
### (3) Rain or Shine vs. (10) Barako Bull

Rain or Shine has the twice-to-beat advantage.
* C/S9
* May 27
* Recap
Rain or Shine Elasto Painters 96, Barako Bull Energy Boosters 88 :
* Rain or Shine wins series in one game ||
* Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City

### (4) Burger King vs. (9) Alaska

Burger King has the twice-to-beat advantage.
* C/S9
* May 27
* Recap
Burger King Whoppers 96, Alaska Aces 90 :
* Burger King wins series in one game ||
* Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City

### (5) Sta. Lucia vs. (8) Coca-Cola

This is a single-elimination game.
* C/S9
* May 29
* Recap
* Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City

### (6) Purefoods vs. (7) Talk 'N Text

This is a single-elimination game.
* C/S9
* May 29
* Recap
* Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City

## Quarterfinals
### (3) Rain or Shine vs. (6) Purefoods

* C/S9
* May 31
* Recap
* Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City
* C/S9
* June 3
* Recap
* Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City
* C/S9
* June 14
Rain or Shine Elasto Painters 93, Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants 89 :
* Rain or Shine wins series 2–1 ||
* Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City

### (4) Burger King vs. (5) Sta. Lucia

* C/S9
* May 31
* Recap
* Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City
* C/S9
* June 3
* Recap
* Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City
* C/S9
* June 14
Burger King Whoppers 120, Sta. Lucia Realtors 72 :
* Burger King wins series 2–1 ||
* Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City

## Semifinals
### (1) San Miguel vs (4) Burger King

* C/S9
* June 17
* Recap
* Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City
* C/S9
* June 19
* Recap
* Cuneta Astrodome, Pasay
* C/S9
* June 21
* Recap
* Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City
* C/S9
* June 24
* Recap
* Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City
* C/S9
* June 26
* Recap
* Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City
* C/S9
* June 28
San Miguel Beermen 118, Burger King Whoppers 103 :
* San Miguel wins series, 4–2 ||
* Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City

### (2) Barangay Ginebra vs (3) Rain or Shine

* C/S9
* June 17
* Recap
* Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City
* C/S9
* June 19
* Recap
* Cuneta Astrodome, Pasay
* C/S9
* June 21
* Recap
* Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City
* C/S9
* June 24
* Recap
* Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City
* C/S9
* June 26
* Recap
* Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City
* C/S9
* June 28
* Recap
Barangay Ginebra Kings 108, Rain or Shine Elasto Painters 100 :
* Barangay Ginebra wins series, 4–2 ||
* Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City

## Third place playoff

* C/S9
* July 1
* Recap
* Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City

## Finals

* C/S9
* July 1
* Recap
* Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City
* C/S9
* July 3
* Recap
* Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City
* C/S9
* July 5
* Recap
* Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City
* C/S9
* July 8
* Recap
* Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City
* C/S9
* July 13
* Recap
* Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City
* C/S9
* July 15
* Recap
* Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City
* C/S9
* July 17
San Miguel Beermen 90, Barangay Ginebra Kings 79 :
* San Miguel wins series, 4–3 ||
* Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City

## Awards

* Fern-C Finals MVP: Jonas Villanueva
* Best Player of the Conference: Jayjay Helterbrand
* Best Import of the Conference: Gabe Freeman

### Players of the Week

| Week | Player(s) | Team(s) |
| February 28–March 8 | Jonas Villanueva | San Miguel Beermen |
| March 9–15 | Marlou Aquino | Sta. Lucia Realtors |
| March 16–22 | Arwind Santos | Burger King Titans |
| March 23–29 | Ronald Tubid | Barangay Ginebra Kings |
| April 12–20 | Eric Menk | Barangay Ginebra Kings |
| April 27–May 3 | Arwind Santos | Burger King Whoppers |
| May 4–10 | Jayjay Helterbrand | Barangay Ginebra Kings |
| May 11–17 | Jimmy Alapag | Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters |
| May 18–24 | Asi Taulava Ronald Tubid | Coca-Cola Tigers Barangay Ginebra Kings |
| May 25–31 | Gabe Norwood Nelbert Omolon | Rain or Shine Elasto Painters Sta. Lucia Realtors |
| June 3 and 14 | Arwind Santos | Burger King Whoppers |
| June 15–21 | Gabe Norwood | Rain or Shine Elasto Painters |
| June 22–28 | Jayjay Helterbrand | Barangay Ginebra Kings |

## Statistical leaders
### Locals

| Category | Player | Team | Stat | GP |
| Points per game | Arwind Santos | Burger King Whoppers | 19.36 | 14 |
| Rebounds per game | Asi Taulava | Coca-Cola Tigers | 12.08 | 13 |
| Assists per game | Jimmy Alapag | Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters | 6.07 | 14 |
| Steals per game | Warren Ybanez | Barako Bull Energy Boosters | 1.45 | 11 |
| Blocks per game | Marlou Aquino* | Sta. Lucia Realtors | 2.43 | 14 |
| Field goal percentage | Ali Peek* | Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters | .667 | 14 |
| Free throw percentage | Jayjay Helterbrand* | Barangay Ginebra Kings | .877 | 13 |
| Three-point field goal percentage | Don Dulay* | Rain or Shine Elasto Painters | .457 | 14 |
*refers that the local had a higher statistic than an import

### Imports

| Category | Player | Team | Stat | GP |
| Points per game | Rashad Bell | Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters | 32.50 | 2 |
| Rebounds per game | Jai Lewis | Rain or Shine Elasto Painters | 16.80 | 12 |
| Assists per game | David Noel | Barangay Ginebra Kings | 6.40 | 5 |
| Steals per game | David Noel | Barangay Ginebra Kings | 2.20 | 5 |
| Blocks per game | Shawn Daniels | Burger King Whoopers | 2.40 | 14 |
| Field goal percentage | Jai Lewis | Rain or Shine Elasto Painters | .563 | 12 |
| Free throw percentage | Rashad Bell | Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters | .857 | 12 |
| Three-point field goal percentage | David Noel | Barangay Ginebra Kings | .438 | 5 |

## Imports

The following is the list of imports, which had played for their respective teams at least once, with the returning imports in italics. Highlighted are the imports who stayed with their respective teams for the whole conference.
| Name | Team | Debuted | Last game | Record |
| Shawn Daniels | Burger King Titans | February 28 | July 1 | 13–11 |
| Anthony Johnson | Sta. Lucia Realtors | February 28 | June 14 | 9–9 |
| Charles Clark | Rain or Shine Elasto Painters | March 1 | March 7 | 1–1 |
| Scooter McFadgon | Barako Bull Energy Boosters | March 1 | March 28 | 2–5 |
| Tiras Wade | Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters | March 1 | May 1 | 5–4 |
| Brian Hamilton | Purefoods TJ Giants | March 1 | March 15 | 2–2 |
| Galen Young | Alaska Aces | March 4 | March 12 | 0–3 |
| JJ Sullinger | Coca-Cola Tigers | March 4 | March 20 | 1–4 |
| Rod Nealy | Barangay Ginebra Kings | March 4 | April 3 | 2–5 |
| Gabe Freeman | San Miguel Beermen | March 8 | July 17 | 15–6 |
| Jai Lewis | Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (2) | March 12 | July 1 | 13–9 |
| Rosell Ellis | Alaska Aces (2) | March 14 | May 27 | 6–7 |
| Jhamar Thorpe | Purefoods TJ Giants (2) | March 21 | April 19 | 2–2 |
| James Penny | Coca-Cola Tigers (2) | March 26 | May 29 | 5–4 |
| Jeff Varem | barako Bull Energy Boosters (2) | April 17 | May 1 | 0–3 |
| David Noel | Barangay Ginebra Kings (2) | April 20 | July 17 | 14–6 |
| Marquin Chandler | Purefoods TJ Giants (3) | April 29 | June 14 | 5–4 |
| Daryan Selvy | Barako Bull Energy Boosters (3) | May 3 | May 15 | 0–3 |
| Gary Forbes | Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters (2) | May 3 | May 6 | 1–1 |
| Rashad Bell | Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters (3) | May 13 | May 29 | 1–2 |
| Chris Williams | San Miguel Beermen (2) | May 17 | May 22 | 1–1 |
| Jamaal Williams | Barako Bull Energy Boosters (4) | May 27 | May 27 | 0–1 |
| All-Filipino line up | San Miguel Beermen | March 4 | -- | 1–0 |
| All-Filipino line up | Barangay Ginebra Kings | April 17 | -- | 1–0 |
| All-Filipino line up | Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters | May 1 | -- | 0–1 |