Ranked at number one, Western Union gets to test number eight in standings, RAMS – Ballers on the opening match. WU will surely be paced by their power forward Jun Bautista who was very consistent in his inside game while teammate “silent operator” Bong Alambra takes care of the perimeter scoring. Number two seed and defending champion Surangel and Sons battles team HANPA – Cardinals on the second game who have shown better performances on the games played before the playoffs. On the third playoff game, Rangers team who have managed to be placed at third spot are going to try to tame the raging Ilocandia – Bulls. Rangers will have to rely on their big man, Jay Naguit while Bulls will need their 1 – 2 punch, Dennis and Supnet, to work extra hard to get pass by the more experienced Rangers team. Then on the last game, four seeded Ilonggo – Slashers who have displayed their quickness and prolific shooting on their previous games will challenge the feisty ATT – Jaguar. Both teams are said to be matched for they possess the same type of speed offense and aggressive defense that proved to be their bread and butter of their game. Leading the Slashers will be Eric Basco who averages 15 points per game with his deadly three point accuracy. On the other hand, ATT – Jaguar will have to bank on Jun Lanzuela’s inside and outside game to advance to second round.
A definite must see matches as all winners of the said games advances to the second round and losers goes home and waits for the next season.Four matches are played every Sunday afternoon in which the first game starts at exactly 11:00 a.m. The 2009 Filipino Basketball League is operated and supervised by the Palau Basketball Federation and sponsored by PITI, CTSI-Logistics, J.Trading/ATT, Surangel and Sons, Ilocandia Association, Ilonggo Association, and Western Union.
