MIGUEL Tabuena bucked a sluggish start and finished with a 71 to take the lead at the halfway mark of the ICTSI Luisita Championship in Tarlac.Tabuena overcame another slow start at the tight Luisita layout with a strong rebound in incredible heat, birdying two of the last five holes at the front to salvage a 34-37 and take control of the field that started to get back into the groove two rounds into the circuit following a year-long hiatus.“I got off to a really bad start again. At one point, I was three-over already but I managed to fight back and shoot one-under,” said Tabuena afterwards. His four-under 140 total netted him a one-stroke lead over erstwhile frontrunner Michael Bibat and a steady Nilo Salahog, who matched 141 outputs after a 73 and 70, respectively.With Marvin Dumandan fighting back with a 69 to move to fourth at 142, and the fancied pair of Tony Lascuña and Clyde Mondilla picking up identical 143s after a 69 and 71, respectively, for joint fifth, the P2 million kickoff leg of this year’s PGT put up by ICTSI could be heading to a frenetic finish on March 25.And back in the title hunt is Tabuena, who bucked a two-over card after three holes to shoot a 69 Wednesday and reeled back again on early backside mishaps yesterday—a bogey on No. 10 and a double bogey on the 14th. But like in the first round, the three-time winner here, including the Philippine Open in 2015, recouped with birdies on Nos. 15 and 18 then broke a run of pars at the front with birdies on Nos. 4 and 8.“The game is not where it’s supposed to be, very rusty. But I guess everyone here is not in their A-game because we haven’t been playing,” said Tabuena. “Hopefully my game begins to get better and better.”He also stressed the need to reenergize given the tough conditions in the onset of summer.“Just want to stay hydrated and make sure I’ll have enough energy for the next two days,” he said.