ALLAN THE MAN

Mares floored Ponce De Leon in round two via a combination, and used his boxing to control the bout in the middle rounds. But Ponce de Leon got back into the fight by pressuring and pushing Mares, especially in round eight.

In round nine, during a close exchange, Mares connected on a crushing over-hand right that sent Ponce de Leon hard to the canvas. Ponce de Leon beat the count, but was still clearly groggy and Mares went for the kill as he unloaded hard shots while Ponce de Leon was pinned against the ropes.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs Robert Guerrero Boxing Match: Unbeaten Floyd Mayweather Jr. returns to the ring after a year’s absence that included a jail stint on Saturday, risking his World Boxing Council welterweight title against southpaw Robert Guerrero.

Mayweather, 43-0 with 26 knockouts, went to jail last June for domestic violence and since his release eight months ago has been working to regain the fitness needed to defend his place atop the list of boxing’s moneymakers.

But fellow American Guerrero, 31-1 with 18 knockouts and a 15-fight win streak dating to 2005, sees himself as having been given this opportunity in order to humble Mayweather by inflicting the first loss of his career.

Former PBA Most Valuable Player Kenneth Duremdes shone brightest among the league’s legends on Friday night, leading his Stalwarts team to a 112-105 victory over the Greats squad in the featured match of the All-Star event at the Davao Del Sur Coliseum.

Duremdes finished with 19 points, including the go-ahead three-pointer that gave his team a 105-103 lead with two minutes remaining in the game, to win the game’s MVP honors.

He was a last-minute replacement for another PBA legend, Benjie Paras, who couldn’t make the trip. The legends game featured former PBA stars teaming up with active players from the league.

2013 PBA All-Star Weekend is set to happen on May 3 and May 5 at Digos City, Davao Del Sur Coliseum. Flag and country is the theme of this year’s PBA All-Star Game. 

Below is the team lineups of PBA All-Star Team, Gilas National Team, PBA Stalwarts and PBA Greats.

PBA All-Star:

James Yap, Mark Caguioa, Calvin Abueva, Arwind Santos, Chris Ellis, Nino Canaleta, Alex Cabagnot, Jay Washington, Cyrus Baguio, JV Casio, Marcio Lassiter, Beau Belga

Boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao wants to take part in the coming PBA All-Star week that begins Wednesday.

PBA media bureau chief Willie Marcial told The Philippine Star that the fighting congressman of Sarangani province volunteered his participation through Davao del Sur Gov. Douglas Cagas.

"Manny asked Gov. Cagas if he can play. We said he's very much welcome. We can include him in the Legends Game. We're still awaiting the confirmation," said Marcial.

SAN Mig Coffee forward Marc Pingris on Tuesday waded into the war of words between Calvin Abueva and James Yap over their physical skirmishes in Game Two of their best-of-five semifinals series in the PBA Commissioner's Cup, warning the Alaska rookie to brace for all-out war in Game Three on May 8.

Leaping to the defense of hobbled teammate Yap who he felt was at the receiving end of some 'cheap shots' from the physical Alaska rookie sensation, Pingris said he and the entire San Mig team have no reason to fear 'The Beast.'

"Parating mo sa kanya 'to: tignan natin kung sino ang physical next game," an infuriated Pingris told Spin.ph. "Abueva, sino ka para katakutan ko?"