Japan&aposs Azuma Yano and Hideto Tanihara moved into a tie for the lead at the top of the Asia-Pacific Panasonic Open leaderboard after the conclusion of a thrilling third round on Saturday. Yano, chasing a second successive victory, posted a flawless five-under-par 65 at the Ibaraki Country Club, while Tanihara fired an equally superb 64 to give himself a chance of an eighth career title after joining his best friend at 12-under. Halfway leader Kaname Yokoo slipped a shot off the pace following a 68, while Kenichi Kuboya (64) sits fourth at 10-under. China&aposs Liang Wen-chong, New Zealand&aposs Mark Brown and Korea&aposs Bae Sang-moon are bunched together five shots adrift tied for fifth after staying in contention after third round 67s “I hit a lot of good shots and I hope to win again,” said Yano. “I&aposm feeling good but there are a lot of guys who can come up the leaderboard and make a charge. However, I do believe that it will be me again.” Tanihara&aposs eight birdies pushed him up the leaderboard and set up a tantalising Sunday showdown with Yano. “I need to keep playing like I did today to come out on top,” said Tanihara after Saturday&aposs round. “I was on top of my game and managed to hit a lot of birdies. “I feel confident but, like Yano says, there are a few others who can make a charge. Yano won last week and I want to stop him from winning again.” Last year&aposs US Open champion Angel Cabrera of Argentina carded a 69 to lie in a group at five-under, seven shots off the pace.