ANTIPOLO CITY – Angelo Que drained a long putt for birdie on the 18th as he matched flightmate Ira Alido’s 68 for a one-stroke lead over four others at the start of the ICTSI Valley Golf Challenge Tuesday, June 6, at the Valley Golf Club here yesterday.

The three-time Asian Tour winner actually threatened to blow the field with an eagle-spiked frontside 32 then hit another birdie on No. 10 to go 2-up over his nearest pursuers. But bogeys on Nos. 14 and 15 enabled five others, including Alido, to gain a shared view of the top before the returning duo came away with late-hole feats to forge ahead with four-under cards.

Alido, who with Que and a couple of others vied in the Asian Development Tour leg in Thailand and missed the Villamor Philippine Masters two weeks ago, birdied the par-5 17th to cap his domination of the rolling layout’s long holes for a bogey-free pair of 34s while Que holed out from way out on the par-3 18th to the delight of the crowd atop the green and at the clubhouse veranda.

Alido was also on target. After saying he’s “currently playing at a high level mentally and physically and confident of his chances (to win) week-in and week-out,” he backed up his words with a solid result, birdying the first two par-5s (Nos. 5 and 7) and picking up another stroke on the 13th.

Zanieboy Gialon, who with Caliraya Springs leg winner Tony Lascuña competed in Taiwan during the PH Masters week, also birdied the 17th as he turned in a 69 to crowd Reymon Jaraula, Justin Quiban and Korean Chon Koo Kang at third while Lascuna recovered from miscues on Nos. 13 and 15 with a birdie, also on the 17th, as he saved a 70 for joint seventh with Albin Engino, Japanese Atsushi Ueda and rookie pro Gabriel Manotoc.

A former national team mainstay, Manotoc flourished in a backside start of three birdies in the first six holes as he crowded the seasoned Que atop the leaderboard. But he yielded shots on Nos. 17 and 2 before regaining his rhythm and gaining another stroke on the seventh for his strongest start yet in six tournaments of the ICTSI-backed circuit where he missed the cut just once.

Jhonnel Ababa, the come-from-behind winner at PH Masters, missed sustaining his birdie-birdie feat from No. 16 with a bogey on the last hole as he settled for a 71 in a tie with Dino Villanueva and amateur Aidric Chan.

IKEDA UP BY 1

Meantime, Chihiro Ikeda took charge with a birdie start but held sway despite a gut-wrenching run of bogeys for a 74 and a one-shot lead as the rest tripped at the finish in both sides of Valley South after 18 holes of the Ladies ICTSI Valley Golf Challenge.

As three-peat hunting Harmie Constantino groped for form and hardly survived a birdie-less round of 76, Ikeda banked on her fine start and conservative play that kept her on top to the finish despite miscues on Nos. 3, 14 and 18 at the demanding up-and-down layout.

But three players of varying styles and skills put in identical 75s, including perennial contender Daniella Uy and title-hungry Florence Bisera and Martina Miñoza, while Constantino, despite her four-over start, stayed in the thick of things at joint fifth with Korean amateur Min Yeong Kim.