The Spaniard followed his surge up the leaderboard on Friday with another birdie-laden round in Dubai and moved level with Henrik Stenson on 14-under overall heading into the last day.
Cabrera-Bello hit three birdies on the front nine, even though he struggled for momentum, and produced a strong finish, picking shots in four of the last five holes.
Rose, who shot a 68 to sit three shots behind, praised his playing partner and compared his touch around the green to that of Seve Ballesteros.
"Rafa Cabreraâ€'Bello was unbelievable," he said.
"He really struggled with his game the first few holes, and then got some flow going.
"He had 15 oneâ€'putts. His short game was Seve-like. It was awesome.
"He was unbelievable. He was chipping it to a foot and it was awesome. Chipping around this golf course is difficult, very grainy, very tough, very sandy underneath the ball.
"It was a masterclass."
Rose holds third place on his own going into Sunday, with four players, including Victor Dubuisson, just a shot behind him.