Daniella Uy, deemed the least-credentialed among the four Filipinas, defied expectations and emerged as a standout performer after 18 holes of the Asia Pacific Cup, matching par 72 to trail Thai ace Atthaya Thitikul and three others, including Korean amateur Hyosong Lee, by four in Indonesia Thursday.

Uy mixed two birdies with the same number of bogeys at the Pondok Indah Golf Course in Jakarta that provided a stern test for a diverse field slugging it out for top honors and princely prizes both in individual competition and team play spread over three days.

The reigning Ladies Philippine Golf Tour Order of Merit champion set her bid in motion with a birdie on No. 2 but a slip on the par-3 No. 8 and a subsequent bogey on the 10th tested her mettle.

Undeterred, Uy rebounded with a birdie on No. 11, setting the stage for a gutsy run of pars that led to a pair of 36s for a share of 14th with Japanese Nasa Hataoka, Diksha Dagar of India and Korean amateur Minson Kim.

Bianca Pagdanganan posted a one-over 73 while defending champion and fellow ICTSI-backed campaigners Princess Superal and LPGA and Epson Tour veteran Dottie Ardina wavered with 74s in a wobbly start for the three seasoned campaigners tipped to contend and keep the individual crown for the country.

The big-hitting Pagdanganan failed to get untracked although she managed to bounce back from two mishaps (Nos. 2 and 8) with birdies (Nos. 4 and 12) before running out of holes to essay another rebound from a third miscue on No. 16.

She ended up with a 37-36 for joint 18th.

Superal sparked hopes for a great start to a title-retention bid with a birdie on No. 3.

But the 26-year-old grappled with the challenging course and fouled up on Nos. 6 and 9, both par-5s, and yielded another stroke on No. 10 to fall off the leaderboard.

She birdied the 11th but dropped another stroke on No. 16 and reeled with a pair of 37s and a share of 24th with nine others in the event organized by Asia Golf Leaders Forum.