The Golden Age of Basketball

On the 15th, the day of the semi-final, rain began to fall in San Jose early in the morning, adding a bit of chill to the city.

However, this did not affect Gan Guoyang from getting up early and taking a basketball out for a jog.

Ever since he embarked on the path of basketball, Gan Guoyang would often have a basketball at his fingertips.

He used to dribble while delivering takeout, and now he dribbles while jogging in the morning, to train his ball-handling skills.

Gan Guoyang knew he had started playing basketball quite late; many black players were only slightly taller than the basketball when they began playing, and to them, the ball was as obedient as a dog on a leash.

Since he had started late, he certainly needed to be doubly diligent, making up for his lack of experience in ball-handling through training and making his dribbling more flexible and natural.

Although he was destined to become a post player, Gan Guoyang understood that the trend in basketball was towards positionless play, and to become an outstanding player, he couldn't afford to neglect any skill.

The rain-soaked streets of San Jose were cold, wet, and slippery, with small puddles forming on the ground, and passing vehicles splashing dirty water on both sides—it was not an ideal environment for dribbling.

But it was exactly in this terrible environment that Gan Guoyang wanted to dribble, avoiding puddles and jumping over steps, with the ball firmly attached to him at all times, never separating for even a moment. (This novel plot contains risk; imitating is not advised for anyone.)

The rain soaked his jacket, and the ball was drenched as well; his fingers were icy, with plenty of mud and sand stuck between them. The splashing water dirtied his pant legs and shoes, but he didn't mind and just continued to plow ahead.

Occasionally, when encountering pedestrians on the road, he would lower his body and dribble past them with a change of direction, startling them into thinking they'd encountered someone mentally disturbed.

Gan Guoyang started from the Sheraton, heading east until he reached San Jose State University, then turned toward the Northwest, running three kilometers at a stretch—only to find the rain getting heavier.

He had to seek shelter from the rain in a nearby temple. The area was an Asian enclave of San Jose, especially Japanese, so having a temple there was not odd.

The young monk at the temple was startled to see a towering figure under the eaves and after understanding the situation, brought Gan Guoyang a cup of hot water.

Gan Guoyang expressed his gratitude, then asked if there was a restroom he could use, intending to clean his hands and the basketball with clean water.

When he came out, he happened to meet the temple's abbot—an old monk in his seventies—who, upon seeing Gan Guoyang, was incredibly astonished and insisted on reading his face.

Gan Guoyang had no choice but to put down the ball and sit on the cushion in the main hall and let the old monk read his face and touch his bones. The old monk was silent throughout and, after a long while, simply asked Gan Guoyang to leave.

Gan Guoyang was puzzled. It was the monk who had wanted to read his fortune, yet he wouldn't share the results. However, since the rain had stopped, Gan Guoyang didn't care much about it. He thanked the monk and left.

When Gan Guoyang had left, the young monk asked the abbot what he had seen and why he hadn't said anything.

The abbot shook his head, saying, "This person bears a divine and ghostly visage, not of ordinary flesh. Fate must not be divulged, lest it invites disaster."

Saying so, the old abbot took out a towel to wipe his bald head. In the drizzly February weather, a fine sheen of sweat had covered his bare scalp.

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The semi-final was arranged for the afternoon. The intermittent rain fell and stopped, and the air inside the Civic Auditorium was filled with the musty smell of rainwater and soil.

Although it was the Northern California Championship, which in theory held a higher standing than local league matches, there weren't many spectators present at the venue. The rainy weather further reduced the crowd.

This was one of the reasons why CIF had never organized a state-wide championship in the past: without the support of local fans and the added excitement of rivalries between cities, these cross-regional games, despite a higher level of play, held very limited appeal to local sports fans.

Gan Guoyang's popularity was mainly concentrated in the San Francisco and Oakland areas, which dwindled by the time he reached San Jose.

Basketball fans in this area were more focused on the San Jose State University Spartans Team.

Outside the Bay Area, in places like Sacramento and Los Angeles, even fewer people knew of him.

However, fame is built little by little. Heroes often start from humble beginnings, through long campaigns in the South and North, before they can achieve greatness and establish their reputation.

Before the jump ball, Gan Guoyang looked at the No. 7, the short stature man standing not far away with his hands on his hips—that was Kevin Johnson.

The man from whom he intended to score 40 points over his head.

Gan Guoyang had watched his games; indeed, he was different from the other players, or rather, he didn't quite seem like a point guard from the 1980s. He already had the characteristics of the super point guards that would come later:

He was incredibly fast, capable of repeatedly changing directions while dribbling, offense first and passing second, with explosive power and leaping ability, able to drive through the paint like a small cannonball.

In Northern California, Kevin Johnson was probably the fastest, most potent point guard, bar none, and nobody could stop him.

That's why he had the confidence to declare he could score forty points over Gan Guoyang's head.

But now, as they stood on the court, with Kevin Johnson near the center circle, he looked at Gan Guoyang, and Gan Guoyang looked back at him.

Gan Guoyang's gaze was calm and icy, like the winter rain, leaving Kevin Johnson with a bone-chilling sensation.

Of course, he had heard all sorts of rumors about this Chinese super center, his rampage through the San Francisco League, 41 rebounds, up to 15 blocks in a single game, extraordinary strength and cunning defense, and a maturity beyond that of a typical high schooler.

None of these had intimidated Kevin Johnson, but instead ignited his combativeness. Everyone said he was good at defense, but he didn't believe it, and was determined to score high points against him.

However, once he actually stood on the court, Kevin Johnson felt the danger, that instinctive warning from the non-thinking area of his cerebral cortex.

Top athletes all have this intuition, a mysterious sixth sense embedded deep in our genetic makeup, from the days of evading beasts and hunting prey in the wild.

Modern life is mostly peaceful and serene, so this intuition is often buried, but top athletes are constantly engaged in high-speed competition, where they often only have 0.1 second to make a judgment, without time to think.

They must rely on muscle memory and intuition – muscle memory gained through repetitive training, and intuition from a combination of innate talent and accumulated experience.

Johnson was an excellent athletic prospect. The sight of Guoyang's tensed body and meaningful gaze at center court told him that he had definitely caught Guoyang's attention in today's game.

Intuition told him to keep away.

But the dignity of an athlete and the desire to win made Kevin Johnson decide to face the challenge.

The game started quickly, and Gan Guoyang won the ball in the tip-off. His first point came swiftly.

High pick-and-roll with Chen Xing, received the ball on a roll to the basket, and scored with a strong layup, easily adding two points.

After suffering two days of diarrhea, Chen Xing had finally recovered after being on a glucose IV drip and made it to the semi-finals.

But guarding Kevin Johnson wasn't Chen Xing; it was Shui Zhong Team's shooting guard, Xu Xun.

In terms of talent, speed, and explosiveness, Xu Xun was no match for Kevin Johnson.

No matter how hard he tried, Kevin Johnson could easily get past him one-on-one.

With a burst of speed and a change of direction, Xu Xun could only eat dust behind Johnson.

However, Xu Xun had one quality – a resilient will. No matter how much Kevin Johnson hammered him, he would do his best to maintain a strong defense and stick to him like glue.

What was more important, Xu Xun had the support of Gan Guoyang behind him; once Xu Xun was beaten, Gan Guoyang would step up to help defend.

Even if Kevin Johnson passed the ball, Gan Guoyang would still choose to help first, not minding if he left his own man unguarded.

Both teams opened the game with quick offenses. The Sacramento Giant Dragons were known for their frenzied attacks, with Kevin Johnson as the dragon's head.

He controlled the ball on the court, lifting the pace of the game by more than a notch, overwhelming slower teams with lesser physical quality through speed, who would be run to exhaustion by the Giant Dragon Team.

But the Shui Zhong Team was tougher than the Dragons had anticipated. Since August, for a full half-year, Beelman had put the team through rigorous training.

Even Gan Guohui had slimmed down and found himself a girlfriend, which says volumes about the intensity of their workouts, leaving the team with plenty of stamina.

Xu Xun clung to Kevin Johnson like a stubborn plaster; after 5 minutes of the first half, Johnson had made 3 assists, but he hadn't scored himself.

Not only had he not scored, but he had also been blocked twice—whenever he broke towards the basket, Gan Guoyang's blocks always came on time.

Xu Xun's persistence meant that Kevin Johnson couldn't reach his top speed, so rather than saying Gan Guoyang protected Xu Xun, it's more accurate to say Xu Xun provided a buffer for Guoyang.

This had been discussed between the two before the game. For Guoyang, knowing how to leverage his own teammates to contain the opponent was crucial in the team-oriented game of basketball.

Although Kevin Johnson was restrained, this allowed the other players on the Giant Dragon Team to perform better, and Johnson, facing resistance on offense, also chose to help his teammates.

The Dragons also decisively double-teamed Guoyang on defense, leaving the scoring responsibility to Franklin, who thrived in such a fast-paced game.

By the end of the first half, the score was tied at 37:40, with Shui Zhong leading the Dragons by 3 points, Guoyang having secured 7 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 blocks.

Kevin Johnson had 6 points, 7 assists, and 2 steals. Both performed comprehensively, but neither scored high.

When halftime was over and they returned to the court, Gan Guoyang approached Kevin Johnson and said, "I heard you wanted to score 40 points over me?"

Kevin Johnson's eyes flickered twice before he stubbornly replied, "Even if I can't score 40 points, we will take the victory."

Gan Guoyang laughed and said, "I've got 7 points now, and you've got 6. You're at 6 because you simply can't score 40 on me. And I'm at 7 because in the first half I only wanted to score 7 points."

"You're comforting yourself."

"No, I'm giving you a heads up."