Ongpauco shot a high game of 269 in the third six-game block to raise his total to 3958.
Compatriot Ellen Ramos was not as lucky, however. She lost her touch after a big 1242 in the second six-game block, managed only 1112 Wednesday and dropped back to 20th place with an 18-game output of 2495.
Both Puyat Sports/Lufthansa-backed Filipino bowlers, though, still have good chances of making the qualifying round cut to 24 in each division after six more games Thursday.
Canada’s Michael Schmidt maintained his frontrunning position with an 18-game total of 4308 for a sizzling average of 239.33 pins.
Last year’s runner-up, Norway’s Petter Hansen, kept second spot on 4229, followed by Belgium’s Gery Verbruggen (4121), Ongpauco, Argentina’s Lucas Legnani (3951), Sweden’s Anders Ohman (3944) and Venezuela’s Arturo Hernandez (3933).
Lynda Barnes of the United States wrested the women’s lead from Malaysia’s Wendy Chai with an 18-game score of 4284 pinfalls.
Chai dropped to second with 4049, followed by Sweden’s Helen Johnson (4021), England’s Fiona Banks (3969), Bahrain’s Nadia Agesi (3862) and Norway’s Ann Louise Haugen (3829).