LJ Go toughened up in the stretch and nipped Carl Corpus with a clutch par on the first extra hole to advance to the finals of the third MVPSF Visayas Regional Match Play Championship at the Cebu Country Club yesterday.

Go, the former Phl Amateur Open champion, actually trailed Corpus in regulation, going 2-down with a bogey on No. 6. But he took the seventh and ninth holes and forced an all-square game with a par on the par-5 15. The duo parred the last two to extend the match.

But the recent topnotcher in the Philippine Golf Tour Q-School advanced with a par on their second trip at the par-4 No. 1 as Corpus holed out with a bogey, keeping Go on track for the crown in the event sponsored by MVP Sports Foundation and held as part of the PLDT Group National Amateur Golf Tour.

No. 11 Joaquin Velez also hacked out a 1-up victory on the 19th hole over Martin Mendoza to seal a showdown with the top-seeded Go in the tournament organized and conducted by the National Golf Association of the Philippines.

Velez battled back from 3-down after nine holes by taking the first three holes at the back but blew a 2-up lead after 15 with a double-bogey and bogey on Nos. 16 and 17, respectively, enabling Mendoza to extend the match.

Like Go, Velez made a par on No. 1 against Martin’s bogey to remain in the hunt for the crown to be disputed over 36 holes today.

In the quarters, Go trounced Mark Dy, 5&4, and Corpus whipped Rolando Pila, 6&5, while Velez ripped Juan Karloz Alba, 4&3, and Mendoza stopped Jufil Sato, 4&3.

Meanwhile, No. 4 Junia Gabasa toppled top seed Nicole Fleetwood, 5&3, to advance to the women’s championship but second seed Angela Mangana foiled a sibling finale by nipping No. 3 Irina Gabasa, 1-up, in their side of the semis duel.

Earlier, Fleetwood crushed Jhanna Abella, 6&5, to roll in the semis while Junia Gabasa turned back Riko Nagai, 3&2, and Mangana nipped Weifang Go, 2&1. Irina Gabasa blasted Grace Quintanilla, 6&4.