CARMONA, Cavite -- Miguel Tabuena powered his way back to the spotlight and joined Justin Quiban in putting themselves in strong contention for the Smart Infinity Philippine Open after three rounds on Saturday, Jan. 25, at the Manila Southwoods Golf and Country Club here.

Tabuena, who was seeking his third title here, fired a sensational 5-under-par 65 to trail solo leader Tomoyo Ikemura of Japan by five shots heading into the last 18 holes of this $500,000 Asian Tour event.

He tallied 207 with earlier rounds of 74 and 68.

Quiban, for his part, held himself steady despite a rough start and carded a 69 for 206 after rounds of 73 and 64.

Starting the round 11 shots behind two-day leader Sadom Kaewkajana of Thailand, the 30-year-old Tabuena stepped on his game by carding seven birdies -- including four consecutive from the sixth hole -- to erase two bogeys and propel himself at joint 20^th along with five others.

“I’m really happy with my long game, my driving… It has been a weapon the last two days, so hopefully it stays like that (tomorrow). Hopefully I can go off to a quick start,” said Tabuena, whose last Asian Tour win was in 2023 where he crawled back from five shots down.

Quiban was equally composed, shooting two birdies on his last three holes after bogeys on the third and 13^th against a birdie on the sixth.

“Nothing was really clicking (today), but nothing was bad, too. The last three holes were crucial, because I really needed those birdies,” said Quiban.

A rampaging Ikemura, meanwhile, stormed his way to the top of the leaderboard with a 67 for 202.

Ikemura appeared unstoppable by pumping in five birdies on his first 11 holes, before a double-bogey on the 12^th and a bogey on the 15^th slowed down his game.

He bounced back with a birdie on the 18^th to take a one-stroke lead over Kaewkanjana.

“There were a lot of unlucky shots, but it was a good day,” said Ikemura through an interpreter.

Kaewkanjana limped home with a 72 after staggering at the front nine with a 40, but he managed to regain his bearings by shooting four birdies against a bogey on his last eight holes.

One shot behind the Thai ace were five others that included another Thai in Danthai Boonma, who fired a course record bogey-free 62 highlighted by eight birdies.