Something must have been lost in translation.
This kind of game is called a sit and go (SNG). It's a single table tournament (STT).
Calling pre in the BB is fine. Calling a couple of half pot bets with your small overpair is also fine. It's unlikely that villain is bluffing when he shoves the river though. It's especially the case when someone piles in all their chips when the pot starts of multiway that they are unlikely to be bluffing. Villain could have a random 3, quads, 88, or even a backdoor flush. Nine times out of ten he can beat a pair of nines, so I think you made a good fold on the river.
In SnGs, it often pays to make "big folds" early on, so that you have some chips when the pots are more important later on. (Near the money bubble). There's no prize for heroic stack offs on the very first hand.