The Golden Age of Basketball

Gan Guoyang was woken up in the middle of the night by a thudding noise upstairs; he rubbed his eyes and checked the time: 2 a.m.

At this time, the pounding footsteps from upstairs continued along with the faint sound of a guitar and drum set.

"Damn it! Are they holding a concert upstairs? Didn't Raymond say he was leaving?"

Gan Guoyang turned over, covered his head with a pillow, but the noise persisted, making sleep elusive.

He had no choice but to get up, go out through the back door of the restaurant, up to the second floor, and banged on the door for quite a while before Raymond casually opened it.

As soon as the door opened, Gan Guoyang was hit with the loud music and people stomping on the floor; it was definitely this group of guys.

"Woh, a distinguished guest, do you want to join us, Gan?"

"Look at the time, you are disturbing the peace! Besides, didn't you say you were going? Why are you still staying here?"

"Left, but can also come back, right? Sorry, I forgot, you young people need to sleep early and wake up early ~ friends, that's it for today, stop, stop!"

The punks inside heard Raymond's call and stopped playing their instruments. These guys were easy to persuade, although it might also be that Gan Guoyang's height of 2 meters had an intimidating effect.

"We have a basketball game at Ellis Street Community Center tomorrow, would you like to come and watch?" Gan Guoyang said to Raymond.

Raymond looked surprised; he hadn't expected Gan Guoyang to invite him to a game. He rolled his eyes and asked, "A game? Who are you playing against? The Lakers?"

"Of course not, it's against Rochambeau Court's Cancer, the second battle. We need some spectators; you can bring your friends, after all, you are old customers."

"Woh, thank you for considering us your customers; you guys run a good restaurant."

"But it's likely going to close down. My brother and I are trying to promote it with a basketball game, hoping you guys can come."

Gan Guoyang utilized the few connections he had to drum up support for tomorrow's game and for advertising.

If he could get Sermonde to come, that would be even better, but after all, they'd only known each other for a little over a week, and their relationship wasn't at that stage yet.

However, Raymond laughed and said, "Promoting the restaurant with a basketball game, do you really expect those kids who play ball to eat at a Chinese restaurant? Or are you thinking of delivering takeout to those players?"

"We're trying what we can, hoping to give out some discount coupons."

"Alright, I'll definitely come, and I really want to see you play basketball too."

As they talked, a young man with a long face and spiky hair like a hedgehog came over and said, "Why not try letting us perform in the restaurant? That could be more effective than a basketball game. After all, you can't play basketball in a restaurant, but customers can listen to music."

Raymond introduced him, "This is Jeffrey-Isabel, from Indiana, a guitarist."

Isabel continued, "Nowadays, some Asian restaurants in Los Angeles, Sacramento, and even San Francisco are doing this. Mrs. Huang's restaurant and VIP Garden—the Filipino owner is very keen on it; the results are good. I think it could work for you too, you should give it a try."

Gan Guoyang looked at these punks radiating a sense of decadence and could not at all picture them in connection with a Chinese restaurant.

However, Isabel wasn't just talking nonsense; in the backdrop of an economic downturn, restaurants were trying new gimmicks to attract customers and spur consumption.

With the middle class moving out of the city to satellite towns, those hipsters and rebellious youngsters became the main consumer group.

Expecting them to quietly sit in a Chinese restaurant for a meal was pie in the sky; yet, if there were punk bands to rev them up, they would be willing to pay an entrance fee and spend on drinks.

Gan Guoyang pondered for a moment, said he would discuss it with his family when he got back, and reminded them to make sure to come to the match tomorrow.

-----------------

On the afternoon of Saturday the 2nd, the rematch between Guoyang's trio and Cancer at the outdoor basketball court of the Ellis Street Community Center in the Tenderloin District, attracted many streetballers, neighbors, and kids to watch the game.

It was indeed an opportunity for Gan's Restaurant to make a wave of publicity, having an amazing Chinese basketball squad come out of a Chinese restaurant made for an attractive gimmick.

Sports like basketball and soccer have deep community roots, truly coming from the people and going back to them, a sports movement of the masses.

In America, a variety of basketball courts and gyms are spread across cities and villages, where streetball is a sports culture even more ancient than the NBA.

On the court, no matter what your status is, whether you're a company executive or a construction worker, or even a high school student and a Chinese restaurant delivery guy like Guoyang, once you're on the court, all that external stuff doesn't matter. People only care if you can make shots, grab rebounds, and make slick passes.

California is the region with the richest basketball atmosphere on the West Coast, where people venerate the heroes of streetball.

Among them, Northern California's streetball style tends to be tough, collective, and victory-oriented, with Oakland as its representative.

Southern California, on the other hand, boasts more talent, with genuine geniuses coming out of Los Angeles and San Diego.

The streetball atmosphere in San Francisco is relatively mild, where a team like Cancer is already considered hardcore, but when compared to those barbarians from Oakland, they are seen as gentle.

For Guoyang's trio's challenge, Steve-Raven's trio naturally accepted, since they initiated the challenge and won the game, they were definitely up for a rematch with their opponents.

For this, they turned down an invite from an Oakland team.

Among the audience were many homeless people, hippies, and fringe groups; Guoyang saw Raymond and that Isabel, they really did show up.

"My God, are these the jerseys you guys are wearing for the game today?"

"That's right, my little brother designed them, he's really a damn genius."

Guohui had designed a special set of sportswear just for the three of them—by sewing the sign of Gan's Restaurant onto their vests.

On the chest was the signboard, and on the back, he had embroidered names for the trio, all done overnight by their mom, who runs a laundry shop.

Guoyang looked at Chen Xing's jersey, which had "ROSE" embroidered on the back, and asked, "Aren't you called Tiny? Why is it Rose now?"

Chen Xing said, "Tiny is my nickname, Rose is my English name... Fatty Hui, next time can we not wear this? Having a restaurant logo on our chest is really embarrassing."

"Oh, dear Mother Gan Lin, if your dad hadn't conned us, would I need to resort to this? Just play well in the game, even if we lose today, we can't lose too badly!"

Guohui was full of fighting spirit; he had done quite a bit of training that week too, running every day to boost his stamina.

Cancer was still comprised of White, Pitman, and Raven, with Cap Raven observing from the sidelines.

Cap didn't hold much expectation for the game; after all, it had just been a week, what could have changed?

The game started, with a coin toss, Cancer took the first offense.

Raven passed the ball to White, who faced Guoyang one on one.

"I bet you're going for a left spin move, right Eric? Come on, do that left spin."

Guoyang stuck close to White, verbally disturbing his opponent.

He knew that White's left-hand dribble was average.

Receiving the ball in this position, turning left is his customary move.

Exposed by Gan Guoyang like that, White didn't know what to do for a moment.

Facing a dead ball situation, he could only pass it out, eventually forcing Raven to take a forced jump shot that missed.

Gan Guohui secured the position and grabbed the rebound, moved out to the three-point line, Chen Xing received the ball and faked, then dribbled for a breakthrough.

Raven stuck close to him, all the while reminding, "Keep an eye on Ah Gan!"

He knew of the usual coordination between Chen Xing and Gan Guoyang, as White closely guarded Guoyang.

With no opportunity, Chen Xing dribbled around.

In 3v3, the chance to coordinate is just a fleeting moment.

Once missed, it comes down to the players' one-on-one abilities.

White was still going for a 3/4 fronting to prevent Guoyang from receiving the ball.

But at that moment, Guoyang stepped out with his left foot, placing it in front of White's, locking him down.

Then suddenly turning inward, the slightly obstructed White couldn't catch up, Chen Xing lobbed the ball into the paint.

Gan Guoyang easily made the layup, scoring the first basket.

This was a little trick Sermonde taught Gan Guoyang to break the fronting defense.

Using a foot wedge to prevent the opponent from catching up leaves the area under the basket open.

"Xie Te, that's a sneaky move."

"Just a regular move, no foul there," replied Guoyang.

White felt that Guoyang seemed to have changed; unease settled in his heart.

The battle in the paint is a psychological struggle as much as it is a physical and technical showdown.

Having his offense predicted and his defense toyed with, White was psychologically defeated.

On the sidelines, Cap Raven frowned, thinking, "In just one week, this guy has figured out how to cope with the confrontation under the hoop? That's not possible."

White harbored similar doubts; how could Guoyang only have rudimentary skills last game but now seem to know a few tricks? It must be a coincidence.

The Cancer team's offense saw Raven dribble forcefully past Chen Xing, attempting to storm the basket.

Chen Xing was more physical with his hands, his defense tougher than last time.

The court-side referee didn't blow the whistle; street games weren't as strict with calls.

Above all, they were playing at home.

Raven's layup was disrupted by Gan Guoyang and didn't go in.

Once again, Gan Guohui fought hard and secured the rebound, his hefty frame proving useful.

The ball moved outside the three-point line, Guoyang and White contesting for the same spot as before.

Still playing a 3/4 front, Guoyang stepped out to wedge again.

Expecting it this time, White sped up and stuck closer as Guoyang turned.

However, Guoyang pulled a reversal, not cutting to the basket but pivoting to shield White behind him!

This guy had a backup move.

Chen Xing lobbed the ball, Guoyang received it and nudged inside.

In a disadvantaged position, White couldn't resist the nudge.

Off-balance, he watched as Guoyang leaped and slammed the ball into the basket with one hand!

"Holly Xie Te..."

Raymond and his friends all gaped, unable to help but scream out loud.

They knew Guoyang was decent at basketball, but they hadn't expected him to be this good.

This dunk ignited the crowd, and more people started joining the spectators.

In the Tenderloin District, a large gathering usually meant free food or a punk band concert.

This time, it was because of a Chinese kid playing basketball, truly unprecedented.

Cap continuously rubbed his chin, muttering, "This kid really has improved, or was he pretending last time? Unbelievable, unbelievable."

While he pondered, White's offense in the paint was again shut down by Guoyang.

Appearing shell-shocked from the start, White's reaction was sluggish.

After blocking White, Guoyang ran to the perimeter, received Gan Guohui's pass, and scored with a mid-range jump shot from the zero-degree angle!

After scoring 3 baskets in a row, the Cancer team called a timeout, knowing they were doomed if they continued this way.

During the water break, Raymond and Isabel squeezed over and asked, "Gan! Gan! What's your team's name? You're amazing!"

Gan Guoyang replied, "We haven't decided on a name yet, we still need to think about it."

They couldn't agree on a name that morning during their discussion.

"You need a catchy name. You're Gan's Restaurant, how about Gun?" suggested Raymond.

Gan Guoyang glanced at the Rose embroidered on Chen Xing's back, sparking an idea.

"Gun is too common and too violent. I think, how about Gun-and-Rose, what do you guys think?" he proposed.

"Guns N' Roses?" Isabel scratched his head, "I think that's not a bad name."