CARMONA, Cavite -- Justin Quiban rose to the occasion and stepped up for the Philippines to fire an eagle-aided six-under-par 64 and trail Thai ace Sadom Kaewkanjana by six strokes after two rounds in the Smart Infinity Philippine Open golf championship on Friday, Jan. 24.

Finding the Masters course at the Manila Southwoods Golf and Country Club favorable this time, the 29-year-old’s steady driving and putting himself in contention after bouncing back from an opening-round 73 for a two-round total of 137.

“It just happened. I was comfortable. I swung really well (today)… putted really well,” said Quiban.

“I think I only missed one green, too, so I always had a chance to make birdies and luckily, my putts were going in, so 64 happened,” he added.

Kaewkanjana resumed his command by carding a 66 for 131 to clinch a three-shot lead over Micah Shin.

Starting in the early afternoon, Kaewkanjana appeared flawless by firing four birdies in the first nine holes before encountering bogey mishaps on Nos. 11 and 15.

He bounced back with birdies on the 16^th and the 18^th to bolster his title bid heading to the last two rounds.

Shin led the morning flights with a 65 for a 134, while Australian Aaron Wilkin and Japanese Tomoyo Ikemura were one shot behind Shin after shooting 69 and 66, respectively.

Quiban had a perfect, long drive on the par-5 eighth that left him just 219 yards to the hole. He piped a 6-iron to within gimme distance for that eagle.

He also had four birdies in a bogey-free round helped in part by the absence of strong winds practically all day.

“I started at 7 a.m. and the wind only picked up at the back nine. Front nine, it was just a breeze. I was already under-par after nine holes so my back nine, no more pressure,” Quiban said.

Three-time Asian Tour winner Miguel Tabuena made it to the cut with a 68 for 142 to recover from a first-round 74.