The Golden Age of Basketball

In the 19th century, San Francisco could be called the city of sin, where the wealth brought by gold wildly fostered the growth of wickedness.

In the Barbary Coast, gambling houses, brothels, saloons, and theaters were next to each other in close succession.

In Chinatown, there were Chinese restaurants, temples, opium dens, and Asian prostitutes in the red-light buildings.

"Pacific News" once said in 1852, "There is not a single country in the world that dare say it has never sent a prostitute to San Francisco."

The Tenderloin District, not far from Chinatown, has long been the area with the highest crime rate and as the filthiest and most chaotic part of San Francisco.

This city center plot has always maintained its dirty but characterful attributes, homelessness, drug trade, sex work, and strip clubs are commonly seen labels here.

At the same time, it is also a refuge for non-mainstream art and culture and marginalized groups, where bands like Green Day and the deceased Kennedy recorded their albums.

During the Vietnam War period, a large number of immigrants from Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia flooded in, giving the Tenderloin District the nickname "Little Saigon."

No matter the dark, cold reality depicted, or the legendary tales colored by romanticism, Chinese people have always played unflattering roles in these narratives.

Chinese restaurants, opium, little-footed prostitutes, and bespectacled bookworms could almost fill the entire American imagination of Chinese people.

Just like in Hollywood movies, always appearing with withered faces, wearing long robes and skull caps, dragging unattractive queues, a numb expression of a Qing Dynasty elderly.

For a Chinese basketball team to beat a well-known street basketball team in San Francisco, the neighbors in the Tenderloin District would think it as unbelievable as Native Americans winning the Nobel Prize in Physics.

But Gan Guoyang did it, he dominated the opponents in the game on the afternoon of August 2nd.

Although Cancer put up a stubborn resistance, at one point they closed the gap to 5:6.

However, their core player White was completely overwhelmed in the confrontations with Gan Guoyang.

He was almost unable to score, and at the same time, couldn't defend Gan Guoyang's one-on-one in the post.

After Gan Guoyang mastered the technical details of low post positioning, White, who played as a small forward in the school team, was utterly devoured.

Even fouls couldn't stop Gan Guoyang from scoring under the basket, the referee's whistle would only become a trumpet leading the audience's cheers.

Not to mention when Gan Guoyang, getting into the groove, also had a non-flashy but calm passing game, assisting Chen Xing and Gan Guohui, rendering Cancer's double-teaming ineffective.

These two also delivered, seizing all three scoring opportunities that came their way, not wasting Gan Guoyang's passes.

Clearly, after losing the last game, they were constantly thinking about revenge.

The right amount of hatred is the best strong drink to motivate people to move forward.

Steve Raven, White, and Pitman did not expect the performance on the court to reverse just a week later.

Putting aside the influence of the venue and morale, Gan Guoyang's progress was undoubtedly the most direct reason.

"His improvement is frightening, Daddy, can someone really learn all that in a week?" Raven asked his father after the game ended.

A few names flashed through Mr. Kap's mind, but it seemed that even these geniuses could not achieve such great progress in a week's time.

"Perhaps he was hiding his capabilities last game, or maybe... he had some other reason for not performing well. Maybe I should take some time to visit his family's restaurant. Don't be disheartened, Steve. There are always many monsters in this world, especially on the basketball court."

Mr. Kap found excuses for Gan Guoyang's progress while comforting his son.

Meanwhile, Gan Guoyang had already left the basketball court, surrounded by crowds, and headed to Gan's Restaurant with a group of people.

Gan Youtang and Gan Bingguang were taken aback, thinking the vagrants were there to rob them, and almost picked up the phone to dial 911.

Only after understanding the situation did they learn that their grandson and his team had actually won the game, bringing glory to the Tenderloin District.

Raymond, Isabel, and their friends took the opportunity to bring their instruments down and set up a small punk concert right in the restaurant, offering a free performance, but no alcoholic beverages were allowed.

For a time, the once quiet Gan's Restaurant became bustling with noise, and Gan Bingguang and Gan Youtang almost lost control of the situation.

Fortunately, they held their ground at the counter and prevented the celebration from turning into an opportunity for looting under the guise of chaos.

The results of the victorious celebration were:

Gan's Restaurant ran out of stored beverages and had to restock from a nearby supermarket, the appetizers on the steam table were popular but many were eaten without payment, Gan Youwei experienced overload in the kitchen but was proud of his son and didn't mind the hardship, and the restaurant's previously clean bathroom was turned into the filthiest spot on the West Coast.

When tallying up the accounts, Gan Bingguang discovered that the restaurant's earnings for the night exceeded that of the entire month of July, providing a glimmer of hope for Gan's Restaurant.

Although this business model deviated from the initial intentions, in the current environment and economic situation, survival was paramount.

As the masterminds behind the idea and the victory in the basketball game, Gan Guoyang and Gan Guohui were treated differently.

Gan Guoyang was told to rest early and wake up early for summer camp the next day.

Meanwhile, Gan Guohui's task was to clean the toilets, a challenge even more daunting than winning today's game.

Gan Guohui objected to this, to which Gan Youtang said, "Guoyang is the real hope, you're just the pacemaker. It's not okay to have him clean toilets! Just suck it up and endure some hardship, Hui Zai."

Fortunately, Gan Youwei cooked a pot of soybean and pig tail soup as a late-night snack for Gan Guohui, which somewhat soothed his stench-afflicted soul.

On Sunday morning, the third, Cap Raven arrived at Gan's Restaurant in his Cadillac, following the address on the card, wanting to talk to Gan Guoyang.

Upon learning that Gan Guoyang and Gan Guohui were heading to Walnut Creek to attend the Alok Basketball Summer Camp, he offered to drive them to the destination.

The distance from San Francisco to Walnut Creek is about 40 kilometers, just a half-hour drive, while taking the bus and light rail with a transfer in Oakland would take at least an hour.

A free ride not taken is a wasted ride, so Gan Guoyang and Gan Guohui put their luggage in the trunk, with Gan Guoyang being so tall that he needed the passenger seat moved back a considerable distance.

Gan Guohui, having cleaned the toilets late into the previous night and not slept well, quickly fell asleep in the back seat.

Cap chatted with Gan Guoyang about many things related to basketball while driving.

Cap didn't pry into Gan Guoyang's privacy, simply asking him about some of his thoughts for the future.

When he heard Gan Guoyang say he wanted to play in the NBA in the future, Cap's face took on a serious expression.

If it hadn't been for yesterday's game, Cap might have laughed and shaken his head, thinking it was just another kid dreaming.

But now the situation was different, and Cap considered this to be something to take seriously.

"If you really want to make it to the NBA, then you need to have a good plan for the next two to three years. The right high school and a suitable basketball college are essential steps on your journey. Maybe I can offer some help."

Cap was right, such guidance was important for a 16-year-old kid.

But Gan Guoyang's mindset was not that of a 16-year-old, he countered, "Why do you want to help me? We're not related."

Cap chuckled, knowing Gan Guoyang would ask such a question, and replied, "If I say I'm just cherishing talent and expect nothing in return, you'll surely think I'm hypocritical. Since '74, I've been working on a writing project about a series of stories from the San Francisco Bay Area. The first time I saw you on the court, I thought you'd make a great subject... Forgive my directness, but your identity..."

"Yes, I know I'm Chinese-American. There are no Chinese people playing professional basketball."

"That's true. However, when I was younger, there was a Japanese man who briefly played in the NBA, back in 1947. His name was Misosaka Wataru, a player from University of Utah who won the NCAA championship with his team in 1944 and the NIT championship in 1947. In the NBA, which was then called the BAA, he only played three games for the New York Knicks. But his name remains forever in the basketball archives because he was the first Asian to step onto a professional basketball court."

Gan Guoyang understood Cap's point. If he could become the first Chinese-American to play professional basketball, no matter how he played, he would make history and become a story worth writing for Cap.

Gan Guoyang said, "Thank you, Mr. Kap, but I must say, first, I respect every basketball player who fights hard, but please never compare me to a Japanese person. Second, I will make my mark in history, but not because of my skin color or identity, but because of my achievements on the court. Lastly, could you drive a little slower? I'm feeling a bit nauseous..."