Dumandan, the elims topnotcher and now the fancied player to win here after the exit of Juvic Pagunsan last Wednesday, watched Tambunting waver at the backside of their head-to-head duel to pull off a 4 & 3 victory at the start of the match play event that produced two reversals and three matches that went beyond 18 holes.
"Nahirapan din pero hindi ko na pinansin ang laro ni Justin. Basta ang inisip ko lang dapat manalo ng mga holes," said Dumandan, who faces 16-year-old Jan Tambogon in the next round.
Tonlit Asistio, ranked 28th after the 36-hole stroke play elims, came through with the worthiest victory in a day of changing fortunes, a thrilling 1-up win over fifth-ranked and veteran campaigner Jose Mari Hechanova.
Three matches also went over the distance with No. 4 Tristan Tabanas sinking a pressure-packed pin-length birdie putt on the 19th hole to draw level with fellow Del Monte bet Joel Opaco before scoring a 1-up victory with a par on the par-5 No. 2.
Dumandan opened his bid with back-to-back birdies and appeared headed for a rout only to find Tambunting fight back with his own version of twin birdies from No. 5 to even things up after nine holes.
But the 24-year-old Dumandan holed out with another birdie on No. 11 to go 1-up, then won three straight holes from No. 13 when the jungolfer from Southwoods fumbled with a missed-green bogey, made a six on the par-4 No. 14 and yielded the next when the Riviera bet gunned down his fifth birdie on No. 15.
He, however, opted to downplay his chances as he leads the chase for the quarterfinal and then the semifinal berths in a busy and grueling second day of match play today.
"Di ko iniisip yun dahil madaming magagaling dito. Basta laro-laro lang," said Dumandan, losing semifinalist here last year to now-pro Jerome Delariarte.
Other winners were Jay Bayron, Michael Bibat, Anthony Fernando, Jun Bernis, Louie Dacudao, Raffy Garcia, Boyet Saragoza, Laurence Negrido, Artemio Murakami, Cris delos Santos, Hanson So Jr. and Greg Laguatan. — Dante Navarro