Julius Villabrille and Solomon Padiz Jr. booked a place in the quarterfinals of the men’s doubles after pulling off a thrilling 21-23, 21-19, 21-16 comeback victory over Thailand’s Neauadang Mangkornloi and Andrew Newman in the Philippine International Challenge 2026 presented by the Philippine Sports Commission on Thursday at Gameville Central Park in Mandaluyong City.

The World Championships-bound tandem showcased its composure against the young Thai pair, overcoming a first-set collapse after holding an early advantage in their Round of 16 clash.

Mangkornloi and Newman carried their momentum into the second set and threatened to seize control of the match, but Villabrille and Padiz stayed composed to force a decider before completing the comeback in just under 58 minutes.

Villabrille and Padiz are no strangers to success on the international stage, having won the PETRONAS International Challenge in Malaysia two years ago.

This time, however, the National University standouts hope to capitalize on the energy of the home crowd in the tournament, which features athletes from 28 countries and is supported by the National Sports Tourism Inter-Agency Committee.

The Filipino duo will next face Malaysians Bryan Jeremy Goonting and Muhammad Haikal in the quarterfinals, with a semifinal berth and a guaranteed podium finish at stake.

In the singles competition, India’s Manraj Singh and Thailand’s Tidaporn Kleebyeesung continued their title bids by advancing to the quarterfinals as the highest remaining seeds in the men’s and women’s draws, respectively.

The second-seeded Singh cruised past Malaysia’s Darrel Sen Xian Chew, 21-11, 21-9, to arrange an all-Indian quarterfinal showdown against Aryamann Tandon, who defeated Malaysia’s Muhammad Hazi, 21-12, 21-12.