Digest

BASKETBALL

Morant wins Most Improved Player award

Ja Morant was rookie of the year in 2020, vowing he would get better from there.

And he's done exactly that.

The Memphis Grizzlies guard picked up his second major award in three seasons Monday, getting announced as the NBA's Most Improved Player. He is the first Grizzlies player to receive the award－and the first player in league history to have won both rookie of the year and most improved.

Morant set career bests in scoring (27.4 points per game), rebounds (5.7), steals (1.2) and field-goal shooting (49.3 percent). His scoring average last season was 19.1 per game, and he made the big jump while playing basically the same amount of minutes.

The Grizzlies had three players get votes for MIP－besides Morant, Desmond Bane was fifth and Jaren Jackson Jr. was 10th. The trio led Memphis to the No 2 seed in the Western Conference and the second-best record in the league behind Phoenix.

San Antonio's Dejounte Murray was second with 183 points, and Cleveland's Darius Garland was third with 178. Murray appeared on 63 ballots, more than anyone else. Garland appeared on 62 ballots.

SOCCER

Juve edges closer to Champions League

Moise Kean's 89th-minute winner earned Juventus a 2-1 comeback win in a tricky visit to Sassuolo on Monday－marking a major step in Serie A for the Bianconeri toward securing a Champions League spot.

Kean, a substitute, controlled a pass with his back to goal then turned his defender before shooting through the keeper's legs.

With four matches remaining, fourth-placed Juventus moved within one point of third-placed Napoli and eight points ahead of fifth-placed Roma－with the top four qualifying for the Champions League.

Paulo Dybala's equalizer at 45th was his 81st goal in Serie A with Juve, matching Cristiano Ronaldo for 10th place on the club scoring list.

CSL lineup confirmed as financial rules eased

The Chinese Football Association (CFA) confirmed on Monday that all 18 Chinese Super League (CSL) clubs have been given the green light to play in the new season, whose schedule is undecided yet due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

With a number of clubs facing serious financial difficulties, the CFA relaxed its preseason admission audit earlier this month to extend the deadline for resolving wage arrears issues. The move effectively allowed the current 18 CSL clubs to remain in the top flight.

But Qingdao FC and Guizhou FC have withdrawn from the second-tier China League One. Those spots have been filled by the Beijing Institute of Technology team and Xinjiang Tianshan Leopard. In addition, China's under-19 national squad will be one of 20 teams to play in the third-tier China League Two.

The bottom three teams in the CSL table will be relegated, with the top three teams in League One earning promotion.

Li Ke quarantining after return to Beijing

Team China midfielder Li Ke is quarantining after flying back to China for the start of 2022 Chinese Super League campaign.

The British-born player, also known as Nico Yennaris, returned to China on Saturday from England where he underwent an ankle operation and subsequent rehabilitation.

"Day two in quarantine. Wi-Fi keeps cutting out," he wrote on social media on Sunday.

Li Ke, who made only three appearances for Beijing Guo'an last season, faces a fight to regain his place in the capital club's starting XI after the arrival of new signings in the offseason.

Guo'an recently announced the acquisitions of Nigerian striker Samuel Adegbenro, Croatian forward Marko Dabro, South Korean defender Kang Sang-woo and Bosnian defender Samir Memisevic.

The 28-year-old Li Ke, who previously played for London side Brentford, is expected to join up with Guo'an in early May after completing his mandatory quarantine.

BOXING

Whyte slams champ Fury's 'dirty' tactics

Dillian Whyte has accused Tyson Fury of "dirty" tactics during the WBC heavyweight champion's victory at Wembley on Saturday.

Fury retained his world title with a sixth-round stoppage of Whyte as the 'Gypsy King' ended the bout with a devastating upper cut.

However, Whyte believes the referee should have penalized Fury for shoving him before his head thumped against the canvas.

"I was buzzed but obviously I was trying to regather my senses and he proper pushed me and I fell over and hit my head on the canvas, which is illegal," Whyte told Sky Sports on Monday.

"This isn't wrestling, this is boxing. I should have been allowed extra time to recover and then carried on fighting.

"I got caught, no doubt about it. I got caught by a good shot. I was hurt, I was trying to get my senses together and he full on, two-handed pushed me. It wasn't like a one-armed thing.

"I should have had time to recover, time to go back to my corner, but Tyson Fury gets away with a lot of things."

Whyte claimed Fury head-butted him after he sustained a gash over his right eye, the first time the Londoner had sustained a cut in 31 professional fights.

Xinhua - Agencies