The 1st Conference of the 6th Season of the PhilippinesShakey's V-League started on April 19, 2009, at the Filoil Flying V Arena. Teams included defending champion and current NCAA champion San Sebastian, UAAP runner-up FEU, NCRAA champion Lyceum. Two Visayan teams, CESAFI champion USJ-R, and USLS, joined at the quarterfinals. UAAP champion La Salle decided not to compete and took a leave of absence; UP replaced the Lady Archers to complete the eight-team elimination round roster.[1]
Tournament format
A revised tournament format was issued with 10 teams participating:[1]
Top four teams from the elimination round will be joined by the University of San Jose-Recoletos Lady Jaguars and University of St. La Salle Lady Stingers.
Top four teams will qualify for semi-finals
Bottom two teams are eliminated for a semi-finals berth.
In case the championship series ends first, and the two teams split the series, the team with which has won the greater number of sets wins third place
NOTE: This format is official as set by the Shakey's V-League.