Pasay city: Jaicee Cervantes and Jehanne Mendoza shot a 76 to take a one-shot lead in the ICTSI Eagle Ridge Junior PGT Championship girls' 7-10 division Wednesday at the Aoki course in General Trias, Cavite. Cervantes, coming off a victory at Beverly Place, birdied two of her first three holes while Jehanne Mendoza recovered from an early triple bogey to finish second with a 77. Tyly Bernardino carded an 81 for third.

According to Philippines News Agency, Cervantes and Mendoza entered the tournament ranked third and fourth, respectively, in the Luzon standings and are seeking to join already-qualified Winter Serapio and Andrea Dee in the North squad. Another win by Cervantes and a runner-up finish by Mendoza could effectively secure the remaining Finals slots, while challengers Cecilia Mamauag and Laura Pablo face an uphill battle after opening with 90 and 91, respectively, at the challenging par-72 layout.

'I need to work on my short game tomorrow,' said the nine-year-old Cervantes of Assumption College, who moved closer to completing back-to-back victories. But after a solid start, she found the greens difficult to read, yielding seven bogeys against just one more birdie to finish with a 40-36.

The boys' 7-10 division remains wide open as Asher Abad and Drake Matias shared the lead with 74. Mateo dela Cruz and Kenzo Tan both shot 77, while Kingston Ching struggled to an 80. Ranked fifth in the standings, Abad needs a victory and favorable results from rivals to earn a Finals berth.

'My game plan is to just maintain my scoring, block out what the other players are doing, and play my own game,' said Abad.