Digest

VOLLEYBALL

Beijing stuns defending champion Shanghai

Beijing stunned reigning champion Shanghai in a five-set thriller in the third round of the Chinese men's volleyball league in Qinhuangdao, Hebei province, on Wednesday.

In a highly anticipated matchup between the two title favorites, Beijing maintained its momentum to outlast Shanghai 3-2(25-16, 28-30,25-20, 20-25, 15-8).

Beijing's Jiang Chuan scored a game-high 22 points, while Zhang Binglong and Serbian player Uros Kovacevic notched 18 and 17 points respectively.

After an evenly contested opening to the game, Beijing jumped into a four-point lead and comfortably won the first set 25-16.

Shanghai, which competes with an all-Chinese squad, showed great determination to tie the match twice by winning an epic second set 30-28 as well as the fourth. But nine spikes and two blocks eased Beijing to victory in the decisive fifth.

In other action, Guangdong cruised past Hubei 3-0(25-14, 25-15,25-21) for its third straight win, while Henan swept Liaoning 3-0(25-7, 25-22, 25-14).

BASKETBALL

Guangdong digs deep to see off Shenzhen

The Guangdong Southern Tigers labored to a 109-98 victory over the Shenzhen Aviators at the CBA bubble in Zhuji, Zhejiang province, on Wednesday.

Five players notched double-digit scores for Shenzhen, but the Aviators were let down by poor shooting from Kenny Boynton, who managed just two points－his lowest tally in the CBA.

Although league-leading Guangdong earned its 40th win of the season, the Southern Tigers' head coach, Du Feng, was far from happy with his team's performance.

"It was the last game before the All-Star Weekend, but the players were in rest mode already," said Du.

Meanwhile, substitute Fu Hao was one of the biggest surprises for the Liaoning Flying Leopards as it smashed Nanjing 105-82, extending the Monkey Kings' losing streak to 11 games.

Fu contributed 16 points and five rebounds in 20 minutes, while Guo Ailun grabbed a team-high 19 points and nine assists.

SOCCER

Laporta makes Messi vow after taking office

With Lionel Messi watching closely, newly elected Barcelona president Joan Laporta took office on Wednesday and promised to do his best to convince the star playmaker to stay.

Messi was at Laporta's inauguration at Camp Nou and embraced the new president during the ceremony.

One of Laporta's biggest tasks will be to try to change Messi's mind after he pushed to leave the club last year. He had his request denied by former president Josep Bartomeu but can leave for free when his contract expires at the end of this season.

"I'll do whatever I can to keep Messi from leaving," Laporta said, adding that he was certain the superstar player wouldn't be considering leaving if the stands weren't empty because of the pandemic.

Another big task for Laporta will be to restructure the club's finances amid debts of more than 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) caused in large part by of the pandemic.

Laporta was also in charge from 2003-2010, when Messi began playing at the club and it enjoyed some of its greatest success.

Lewandowski a doubt for Wembley qualifier

Robert Lewandowski could miss his country's forthcoming World Cup qualifier against England because Bayern Munich may not release the striker, Poland coach Paulo Sousa said on Wednesday.

According to the current regulations, people who return to Germany from the UK must be quarantined. Bayern is, therefore, reluctant to allow Lewandowski to fly to London and play at Wembley on March 31 because he would likely be ruled out of some Bundesliga games, including the leader's top-of-the-table clash against RB Leipzig on April 3.

The Polish soccer federation (PZPN) is in talks with Bayern and UEFA over his availability.

This week, Lewandowski informed Bayern that he is "really determined to play against England". However, the club insists its decision will depend on COVID-19 restrictions. The current rules are valid until March 28.

AMERICAN FOOTBALL

Niners hand Williams richest-ever OL deal

The San Francisco 49ers locked up their biggest potential free agent for the long term by agreeing to give star left tackle Trent Williams the richest contract ever for an offensive lineman.

Williams' agents at Elite Loyalty Sports say the deal agreed to early Wednesday will pay Williams $138.1 million over the next six years, surpassing the $138 million deal David Bakhtiari got from Green Bay during last season. Williams will also get the biggest signing bonus ever for an offensive lineman at $30.1 million, as well as $55.1 million guaranteed.

"Trent's a game changer," said fullback Kyle Juszczyk, who signed a five-year contract to stay in San Francisco earlier in the week.

The Niners finalized the deal just hours before Williams could have left to sign with another team at the start of the new league year.

The contract is a staggering reward for Williams, who sat out the 2019 season in Washington over a dispute with the front office before reviving his career in San Francisco.

Xinhua - Agencies