Fighting Maroon: Role player Jireh Ibañes emerges as unlikely finals hero for Rain or Shine

Despite Wayne Chism, Paul Lee, and Jeff Chan exploding offensively for Rain or Shine in their Game Two victory against Talk 'N Text in the Commissioner's Cup finals, it was role player Jireh Ibañes who merited a special mention from coach Yeng Guiao in the post-game press conference.

"He did the hell of a job not just defending Jayson Castro but also scoring some big points for us," Guiao commended his performance.

The former University of the Philippines wingman scored 12 points, but his biggest contribution was helping contain Tropang Texters star Jayson Castro in the second half.

Ibañes limited The Blur to 4-of-10 shooting in the last two quarters after a 27-point rampage in the first half. Castro shot 7-of-9 shooting from rainbow country in the first two periods, before managing two baskets from beyond the arc after the break.

After the game, Ibañes gushed about Castro's performance.

"Oh my goodness, sobrang bilis niya," he said about Castro, who scored a career-high 44 points.

"Bihira ko siya makatapat pero ngayon, nakita ko 'yung respeto. Number one point guard siya ng Asia so masarap na dumepensa sa kanya."

Ibañes also made huge plays down the stretch, forcing an eight-second violation on Castro with his sticky defense up the court. He connected with Chan at the 2:03 mark of the fourth for an alley-oop to put Rain or Shine up 112-103, and grabbed a crucial rebound to stop the Texters' run.

"Sabi ko [kay Jeff] itira mo na lang, ako na 'yung kukuha," said Ibañes of the crucial alley-oop. "Pero when he gave me the look, nakita ko e, sabi ko sige, go ahead. He gave me the pass, and na-shoot ko. So buti na lang. Ang laki nun." -- JST, GMA News