The Golden Age of Basketball

Gan Guoyang's team quickly scored the first point of the game.

Chen Xing passed the ball to Gan Guoyang, who was at the top of the arc, and without hesitation, Guoyang shot a long-distance jump shot from about 20 feet away and scored.

His release was quick and decisive, showing great confidence in his shooting, although the range from which he took the shot was certainly unexpected.

In the 1980s, the three-point line was still a novel concept, and the NBA had just experimented with the new rule for two seasons.

Last season, the entire league only made 943 three-pointers, averaging one per game, which had a negligible impact on the outcome of the games.

In the eyes of old-school college coaches, the three-pointer was nothing more than a circus trick to attract spectators, like the slam dunk—at one distant and the other close—they were only good for exciting the fans and boosting their adrenaline, offering no real benefit to victory, and perhaps even detrimental.

Therefore, for formally trained players, long-distance shooting was not part of their fundamental training—scoring inside and mid-range shots were considered the proper scoring methods.

For a future interior player like Guoyang, who stands 2 meters tall, attempting a long shot only made Cap feel even more that this guy was something special.

Cap suspected that this kid hadn't undergone conventional college training. His shooting form was also distinctive, with a larger bend in the arm than usual—adjustment made for firing from farther distances.

The Cancer team lost the first point and suffered a humiliating block, which was a loss of face.

However, Eric White and Steve Raven did not lose their composure, and in the subsequent offense, they coordinated exceptionally well.

Through continuous pick-and-rolls and cuts, Raven knew that Guoyang was the defensive core, and fully mobilizing him could lead to decent offensive opportunities.

White made a spin move to the basket, caught Raven's alley-oop pass, took one dribble to get past Guoyang, and scored a reverse layup from the other side of the rim.

"Damn, you were so close to blocking me."

After scoring, White "complimented" Guoyang, still brooding over the hard block from the first play.

Gan Guoyang, expressionless, ignored White and, on the next offensive play, again pulled up to the top of the arc, received the ball, and launched another long-distance shot.

And he scored again!

Gan Guoyang's team took the lead.

Afterward, Gan Guoyang once again disrupted Pitman's layup on defense, and secured the rebound.

Chen Xing quickly initiated an offense, drove into the basket while the Cancer team was still off balance, but he knew he couldn't break through White's defense.

So he smashed the ball against the backboard, following up, Guoyang leaped high, caught the ball in the air for an alley-oop, and slammed it with one hand into the basket!

A beautiful and difficult one-handed alley-oop.

Gan Guoyang's feet landed on the blue hard surface of Rochambeau Court, causing the steel rim to tremble slightly.

This was a tactic that Chen Xing and Gan Guoyang had practiced many times over, often using it to dominate their opponents when they least expected it.

After the successful play, Gan Guoyang and Chen Xing high-fived, and Guoyang gestured to Gan Guohui to come over for a high-five as well, his role in "attracting" defensive attention was indispensable.

Though the three of them varied in skill, with Guoyang present, they were a formidable collective. Guohui, who had always lacked confidence, was beginning to find some of his own.

It was a classic case of "the strength of a borrowed power."

The score elicited cheers from the audience, with several black guys already starting to dance with excitement.

A black uncle on the sidelines shouted, "Hey, what's your name?"

Gan Guoyang replied, "Gump. Sunny Gump!"

"Go for it, Gan!"

"Bring more of that stuff, Gan!"

"Gan, beat him hard!"

"Good job, Gan!"

The mood of the spectators was ignited; on the streets, it's all about skill, not skin color.

The Cancer team was, until now, undefeated at Rochambeau Court, and the streetball fans all wanted to witness a "Warriors versus Evil Dragon" showdown.

Guoyang's initial block, two precise shots, and the elegance of his dunk quickly garnered him a group of temporary followers.

Eric White was quite displeased in his heart; he had played at Rochambeau Court for a year or two, and the cheers he received were not as many as this new guy had today.

There was no way around it, fans were visual creatures, and Eric White, despite being strong, played a game that was solid and unadorned, which didn't catch the eye on the streets.

Steve Raven came over to comfort White, "Relax, Eric, we haven't given it our all yet, have we? They're going to feel the pain soon."

Steve Raven clearly had confidence in their trio, and White calmed down and got focused on the offense.

Raven lobbed the ball to White in the low post, where White backed into the paint—post-up moves were an offensive skill necessary for players from guards to centers in that era.

Except for a few adult players, White's physique dominated at Rochambeau Court, standing 6 feet 6 inches tall and weighing 190 pounds, his peers could hardly contend with him.

Today, he finally met his match. He felt Gan Guoyang rooted to the ground like a nail when he was jockeying for position, no matter how much force he exerted, he couldn't budge him an inch.

After catching the ball, he dribbled, pushed inside, and felt like he was bumping into a cement pole.

"What the fuck, is this guy a telephone pole buried in the ground?"

White began to doubt life itself when he couldn't overpower his opponent and gave up on the idea of powering through. He passed the ball back to Steve Raven.

"This kid's defense is so solid, Eric can't handle him?"

Steve Raven was quite surprised; receiving the pass, he immediately changed their strategy.

He drove down the left side with the ball and then passed it to Pitman, who had come around.

Pitman received the ball, made a quick stop, and his jump shot hit the target.

The Cancer kept up their relentless pursuit; Gan Guohui's defense was ultimately a significant weakness.

He couldn't keep up with Pitman's nimble movements. Just a few rounds in, and he was already short of breath.

That was precisely why Cancer was called Cancer—they were adept at wearing down their opponents, both in offense and defense.

Endless running, a super-fast tempo, and tireless strong pressure on the defensive end.

Teams with slightly less strength or overall capability could easily be pressured into collapse by them.

After several probing offensive and defensive moves, Cancer's defense ramped up more than just a notch.

White started to stick close in defense, constantly using his hands to interfere, and tried his best to cut off the passing lanes between Chen Xing and Gan Guoyang.

Chen Xing, on his own, couldn't shake off Raven's defense, resulting in two turnovers, conceding the offensive right.

Pitman hit another jump shot, followed by Raven breaking through and shaking off his defender to drive to the basket. When Gan Guoyang went to help to defend, Raven bounced the ball to White.

White finally got a gratifying two-handed dunk, clearing away the gloomy air.

On the contrary, Gan Guoyang was struggling in the face of the aggressive defense trained from professional school teams.

Chen Xing couldn't pass the ball smoothly into the post, so Gan Guoyang tried to receive the ball on the perimeter himself.

But his ball-handling was not up to scratch, and it was stolen by Raven, who had doubled up on him.

Raven sent a no-look pass into the post, and White, catching the ball, easily made the basket with a layup.

Since he couldn't break through with the ball himself, Gan Guoyang tried to post up and ask for the ball.

But White's defense was unlike the others; he used a three-quarter fronting technique to firmly pin the powerful Gan Guoyang behind him.

Gan Guoyang might have had exceptional strength, but without finesse and just trying to force his way, he only ended up committing a foul.

Chen Xing had no chance of breaking the front with a lob pass—he was too unsettled by Raven's defense, a sticky defense that made even passing difficult.

Gan Guohui stood out at the top of the arc to receive the pass. After he caught the ball, he lobbed it inside, praying that Gan Guoyang could leap and grab it.

But White anticipated the ball's landing point, intercepted successfully, and maintained possession.

The spectators, who had been cheering for Gan Guoyang, fell silent.

The African-American uncle shook his head and muttered, "Can't stand the test, kid."

Cap Raven confirmed his suspicion. This kid was talented but severely lacked the fundamentals.

What a pity, at the age of 16, with such fundamental skills, there was no talking about future development.