The Golden Age of Basketball

"How are you feeling today?"

Standing at center court before the jump ball, Gan Guoyang asked Stevenson, who stood opposite him.

The round-headed Stevenson looked at Gan Guoyang without a word, unsure of what this youngster was plotting.

Gan Guoyang asked again, "I asked you, how are you feeling today? Why aren't you answering? It's very rude of you."

Stevenson had no choice but to reply stiffly, "I feel great, what about it?"

Stevenson's tone was naturally filled with hostility; this was the championship game of the San Francisco League, and Washington High School was determined to win.

They were not only one of the top teams in the San Francisco League but also among the elite in the entire state of California, and the league championship was merely a minor goal for them.

"Nothing much, I was just asking. In China, we are a country of courtesy; you guys really lack manners."

Stevenson was half-convinced, half-doubtful, feeling wary of Gan Guoyang inside.

It was said that during the game between Oakland and Fremont High School, this guy had a heated exchange with Al Payton's son at courtside, leaving Little Payton speechless.

Al Payton was a coach of an amateur team in Oakland, known for his excessive trash talk; Stevenson had played against their team, and Al could crow on incessantly like a raven.

His son was just like Al, yet he was reduced to silence by Gan Guoyang, which made Stevenson all the more vigilant.

However, the referee reminded them to stop talking as the game was about to start, and they took their positions at center court for the jump ball.

Gan Guoyang was the first to touch the ball, and the offense began with the Shui Zhong Team.

Chen Xing carried the ball swiftly across half-court, with a new pair of glasses renewing his game.

Compared to three months prior, his dribbling was much steadier, and he commanded the court with greater confidence.

Franklin received Chen Xing's pass, drove in from the wing, and pulled up for a jumper; it didn't go in.

Stevenson used his body to firmly block Gan Guoyang, preventing him from surging up to grab the offensive rebound.

Gan Guoyang's 20 offensive rebounds in the last game had left a lasting impression on Washington High School.

But Gan Guoyang didn't go for the rebound, instead retreating quickly on defense, not giving Washington any chance for a fast break.

The Shui Zhong Team's defense quickly fell back into position, forcing Washington High School to abandon their counterattack and shift to grinding positional warfare.

The mid-range shot missed, and the rebound was secured by Gan Guoyang.

The start of the game was quite dull as it was the championship game, and the players played cautiously.

Everyone was highly focused, the intensity of the defense was cranked up, with clear rotations and no room for error.

After a few back-and-forth rounds without any score, the game remained 0:0.

The audience awaited to see who would first break the standstill on the court.

A typical position-based offensive play by the Shui Zhong Team.

Gan Guoyang moved out to support Chen Xing, relieving the defensive pressure on him.

At the high post, Chen Xing tried to shake off his defender using Gan Guoyang's screen.

The defense was tight, making it difficult to break free; the other Shui Zhong players were moving to create opportunities for Franklin.

Just as Washington High School's attention was focused on Franklin, Gan Guoyang, who had just been looking to pass the ball, suddenly cut to the net.

With a burst from the middle, he broke through to the basket. Stevenson was caught off guard, and Gan Guoyang wound up and hammered in a powerful dunk!

The basket rim trembled slightly, and the long-silent War Memorial Gymnasium finally erupted in applause and cheers.

Fans in the '80s were relatively reserved, clapping more than screaming.

Facing the impenetrable zone defense of the Shui Zhong Team, Washington High School struggled to find an offensive breakthrough and had to resort to outside shooting.

The ball didn't go in, and Gan Guoyang didn't box out Stevenson this time, instead letting him grab the offensive rebound.

Stevenson faked once, twice, three times under the hoop but couldn't shake Gan Guoyang; he attempted a hook shot only to be blocked, the ball still ending up in Gan Guoyang's hands...

Gan Guoyang was no behemoth like Jabbar or Chamberlain who made opponents reconsider shooting when near the basket.

He was only an inch taller than Stevenson, with slightly longer arms; to the eye, they seemed to be of a similar size.

Many who secured the ball under the hoop felt they could challenge 'Ah Gan', but they often ended up embarrassed.

Gan Guoyang's timing for blocks was superb—he hardly bit on fakes and reacted extremely fast; he had even beat Chen Xing's Nintendo game "Sengoku" quite quickly.

Sometimes, such qualities are more important than height, wingspan, and jumping ability.

Besides, he was solidly built; getting shooting space through physical contact wasn't easy unless you were very strong.

Stevenson was strong but not as much as Gan, nor as quick, and certainly not as decisive—he seemed to be avoiding Gan during play, which only made it easier to get blocked.

After a successful block, Gan Guoyang sprinted downcourt and, receiving a bounce pass from Chen Xing, easily scored a layup.

Scoring 4 points and delivering a block, Gan Guoyang started the game well.

As he retreated on defense, he asked Stevenson again, "Hey, Stevenson, how are you feeling today?"

Stevenson, with a dark face, kept silent while the outside guard Bobinio drove down the middle; Gan Guoyang didn't go for the help defense but instead swatted away the ball Bobinio had exposed.

It was still Washington High School's possession, but Gan Guoyang's defensive state was excellent tonight; any ball that got near the three-second area was difficult to get into the basket.

The Washington High School coach shouted from the sidelines to drive to the hoop, not to back down. Stevenson heard him and then got blocked once more.

After that, Stevenson and David Bonner double-teamed Gan Guoyang when he received the ball in the low post, a tactic that had been successful in their previous matchup.

But this time Gan Guoyang received the ball further out, drove out, and handed the ball smoothly to the accelerating Franklin.

Franklin swiftly moved into the paint and scored on a layup, drawing a defensive foul from the opponent, then headed to the free-throw line and made both shots.

North Bridge High School went on a 6:0 run, causing Washington High School to call a timeout.

During the timeout on the bench, Stevenson had a bad feeling.

He felt like prey that had been targeted by a hunter.

From the beginning of the game, he had been marked.

This might be the instinctive feeling of danger one gets, signaling them to run away.

But in a basketball game, you can't run, Stevenson thought it didn't matter, he had help.

After the timeout, Washington High School came out of the initial chaos and scored with a mid-range shot from the outside.

On defense, Stevenson and Bonner started to shadow Gan Guoyang, one sticking close while the other lurked nearby.

As for Beiqiao High School's number 9 power forward, Wu Zhixiong, they didn't have to worry about him; he posed no offensive threat.

Beiqiao continued to feed the ball to Gan Guoyang, who faced double teams.

Gan Guoyang once again dribbled out of the situation, passing the ball to Franklin and then looking for another opportunity.

There was plenty of time left on the shot clock, enough to organize another attack.

Gan Guoyang changed direction to the other side, suddenly setting a screen.

Franklin's pass was immediate and precise, Gan Guoyang dribbled past Stevenson, turned around, and forcefully went up for a layup, drawing a foul from Stevenson in the process.

He made both free throws.

Gan Guoyang played much smarter than in the previous game, easily avoiding getting trapped, and seizing opportunities as soon as they arose.

Stevenson felt the pressure on his shoulders mount as Gan Guoyang's agile handling forced the two interior players to better distribute their defensive responsibilities.

The score quickly reached 15:10, with Beiqiao High School leading by 5 points. Washington High School's interior offense was virtually silenced, relying only on the outside game.

During an offensive play, Gan Guoyang snatched an offensive rebound; as Stevenson and Bonner immediately closed in on him, Gan Guoyang didn't force his way through, instead passing the ball inward to the cutting Big Bear.

Wu Zhixiong was too slow and not tall enough, and as soon as Bonner turned to defend, Wu Zhixiong wasted the opportunity for an open layup.

But Wu Zhixiong wasn't slow-witted; he never intended to force the shot. Seeing Bonner rushing back to defend, he immediately passed the ball back to Gan Guoyang.

At that moment, Gan Guoyang took a stride forward, catching the ball and going for a one-handed slam dunk over Stevenson!

Rounded-headed Stevenson was knocked away like a doll past the baseline, and on top of that, he was called for blocking foul with an added free throw!

After the dunk, Gan Guoyang, looking down on Stevenson, yelled, "I asked you how you're doing today, why don't you answer me!"

"You're just too rude, no manners," said Gan Guoyang as he made the additional free throw.

Stevenson took a hard fall and felt a sharp pain in his chest from being hit. To be accused of rudeness on top of that, he didn't know where to go to argue his case.

Both teams entered a substitution phase, Stevenson sat down to rest, and surprisingly, Gan Guoyang also took a break, which he seldom did before.

Without Gan Guoyang, Washington High School saw an opportunity to close the gap, quickly bringing the score to 21:18, with North Bridge High School only three points ahead.

Gan Guoyang quickly reentered the game and hit a jump shot from the outside, helping to stabilize the situation for his team.

Stevenson was still sitting on the sidelines, thinking to himself that he might as well just keep sitting and not go back to getting beaten.

As the first half was about to end, Stevenson hadn't scored yet, had been blocked three times, and only grabbed a few rebounds.

But the coach signaled to Stevenson, indicating he should get ready to play.

Stevenson felt wronged and said to the coach, "I feel terrible today."

The coach consoled him, "Win the game, and everything will be alright."

"I don't feel supported."

In the previous game, he and Bonner double-teamed Gan Guoyang. Although they got big numbers from Gan, the process was fierce, and Gan ended up losing the game despite fighting against both of them.

But in this game, Stevenson felt that he was the only one getting beaten up. Bonner had no trouble at all; he even scored 6 points. Gan Guoyang didn't bother helping on defense against him, letting Bonner handle Wu Zhixiong one-on-one.

"That's their strategy. Gan is playing smarter today, so you have to be more alert and tenacious. Go on, Stevenson!"

The coach was right; players need to adjust swiftly to different strategies, and regardless of the situation, they have to fight tenaciously.

But these are high school players, after all, whose emotions can easily be affected and fluctuate. From the very start, Gan Guoyang had been applying both physical and mental pressure on Stevenson, making him somewhat timid.

Anyway, even if they lost this game and got second place, they could still enter the CIF state championship, they could even move up to Division 1; it's all determined by their strength and performance.

Carrying such a mindset into the game, especially in the paint, Washington High School's three-second zone defense quickly collapsed.

With not much time left in the first half, Gan Guoyang consecutively hit turnaround jumpers in a span of two minutes.

His turnaround jumper wasn't smooth and had little variation. With careful study and tenacious opposition, it could be controlled.

But Stevenson didn't. He was intimidated by Gan Guoyang's hot scoring streak. By the end of the half, Gan Guoyang had 9 of 8 shooting, scoring 20 points.

As the buzzer sounded, Gan Guoyang holding the ball looked at Stevenson, not willing to let him off.

Stevenson hurriedly said, "I'm not feeling good today, okay? I just feel bad."

Gan Guoyang smiled and said, "If you had said that earlier, I might have gone easier on you, right, Bonner?"

Stevenson's eyes widened as he said, "I'm Stevenson, I'm not Bonner!"

Gan Guoyang, surprised, said, "You're Stevenson? Sorry, I didn't pay attention to names. The strategy we set up before the game was targeting Bonner."