GlobalPort gets Baculi as coach
GLOBALPORT owner Mikee Romero said that his team commissioned Junel Baculi as head coach replacing interim coach Glenn Capacio beginning next month when the 38th Philippine

Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup begins.
Josef T. Ramos

NLEX Road Warriors crush Cebuana Gems
NLEX Road Warriors bested Cebuana Gems 86-79, on Thursday in the PBA
D-League Aspirants’ Cup at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City. With the win, NLEX has secured the solo No. 1 spot as they finished with only one defeat in ten games while all other teams have at least two losses. Jim Lemuel Wilson

Warriors help cool off Clippers
OAKLAND, California: Stephen Curry had 31 points, eight assists and six rebounds to lead the Golden State Warriors to a 115-94 win over Los Angeles, handing the Clippers their second straight loss. David Lee finished with 24 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists, while Klay Thompson nailed five three-pointers en route to 19 points for the Warriors at Oracle Arena.

Golden State have now won four straight. Los Angeles closed out 2012 on a franchise-record 17-game win streak, but the Clippers lost a 92-78 contest to the Denver Nuggets on New Year’s Day before suffering their second consecutive defeat against the Warriors.     
AFP

Wild cards hope to make deep playoff run
LOS ANGELES: With the National Football League’s regular season done and dusted, it’s time for the playoffs, and history shows that a team from the wild card weekend usually makes a deep run. The fourth-seeded Washington Redskins in the NFC and fifth-seeded Indianapolis Colts in the AFC are two of eight teams in action this weekend trying to crash the Super Bowl party. The 2012 NFL playoffs kick off with the wild card round, followed by the divisional round on January 12. Conference championship games will take place on January 20, ahead of the Super Bowl on February 3.     
AFP

Isner injury puts Spain into Hopman final
PERTH, Australia: A tournament-ending knee injury to American John Isner on Thursday handed Spain a berth in this weekend’s final of the Hopman Cup. The US pairing of Isner and Venus Williams were set to face Spain’s Fernando Verdasco and Anabel Medina Garrigues on Thursday, with the winner to progress to Saturday’s final. However, Isner withdrew from the tournament on Thursday citing a right knee problem, handing Spain a 3-0 victory and passage into the final for the sixth time. Spain have won the mixed teams title three times, most recently in 2010, when Tommy Robredo and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez lifted the title against Great Britain’s Laura Robson and Andy Murray.             
AFP

Japanese city to host Tour de France event: report
TOKYO: A Japanese city is to host a special event under the Tour de France banner in October to mark the 100th edition of cycling’s most prestigious race, a report said Friday. Saitama City, north of Tokyo, and tour organizers Amaury Sports Organization will soon reach a formal agreement and then announce the project, said the mass circulation Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper. The two sides are considering inviting some 50 top cyclists to the “All Stars” exhibition, which will come after the Tour’s title race takes place in June and July in France.

Saitama City Mayor Hayato Shimizu visited France last year to see the tour and held talks with senior officials, the Yomiuri said. Saitama prefecture has more bicycles per head of population, at 0.76, than any other Japanese prefecture, the Yomiuri said.