The Golden Age of Basketball

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(The timing was set incorrectly, it was set for 22:00 on the 9th, only just realized, very sorry.)

The final result of the dispute between Beelman and the women's basketball coach was that both teams would share the court, each using half.

Beelman was seething with anger, "Fuck, we're supposed to fight for the California championship at the Great Western Forum tonight, being broadcast live on CBS, and we can't even find an arena for a warm-up in the afternoon, and we have to share it with a bunch of girls!"

The coach was very dissatisfied, but the players didn't feel the same way; the guys were more energized warming up with the girls.

They ran faster than usual and jumped higher, and during layup drills, they even started attempting dunks.

Looking at the young bucks showing signs of arousal, Beelman yelled loudly, which only made the girls on the other side giggle.

Now they were even more excited.

The women's basketball coach was a woman in her forties who had little regard for Beelman's rude language, and the two of them were arguing again in no time.

With that, the practice couldn't continue. Beelman, full of pent-up anger, called his team together and left for the Great Western Forum Arena to wait.

As they were leaving, Gan Guohui nudged Gan Guoyang and said, "Hey, hey, hey, cousin, that girl was really hot, and tall too. Are you not going to get her contact info?"

Chen Xing also said, "Yeah, yeah, look, she's still watching you. You should go and get her contact info!"

Gan Guoyang shook his head and said, "We've got a game to play soon, stop having such thoughts, let's go."

Saying this, Guoyang left the gym without looking back at the girl.

But despite what he said, the image of the girl's faint smile flashed through his mind, and he was a little curious about who she was and how she knew him?

The girl didn't chase after him to give her number, and it seemed as if their paths had crossed for a moment and that was it.

Gan Guoyang's mind was filled with basketball and the game that night, and it was hard for anything else to squeeze in.

After leaving the high school, the players had to wait until four-thirty before they could enter the Great Western Forum Arena to warm up.

This coliseum-like circular building is the heart of basketball in Los Angeles. East of Madison Square Garden Plaza in New York, it is one of the most famous indoor arenas in America.

Since 1967, the Los Angeles Lakers have made this their home court, witnessing the Lakers' glory, despair, and rise once again over the past decade.

Like the Oakland Arena, it also hosts a large number of music concerts, with famous bands and musicians performing here.

Compared to those renowned figures, the players from Beiqiao High School were mere small fry. From the moment they entered the Forum Arena, they didn't receive normal treatment.

There were no staff members to guide them to the locker room. Teacher Liu had to ask around and grope his way until he finally found their locker room, only to discover the door was locked and they didn't have a key.

Beelman, already furious, couldn't care less. He kicked the locker room door open and then took out a few green bills from his pocket and gave them to Teacher Liu, asking him to take care of the compensation for him.

"People from Southern California are all fucking dog shit. We have to win tonight's game!"

Beelman was very unhappy with the arrangement of the California State Championship Finals. The lousy accommodations, poor food, lack of practice space, and indifferent, inadequate reception.

Compared to Beelman's temper, the Shui Zhong Team players were quite calm. They changed in the locker room, chatted, and never complained throughout the journey.

Gan Guohui said, "It's already an achievement for us to have made it this far. They certainly won't let us win easily, this is Los Angeles, not San Francisco."

Xu Xun said, "This is much better than in Korea."

Gan Guoyang said, "It's no big deal. As long as we're fed and hydrated, we can defeat the opponents."

Franklin said, "I could play ball barefoot and on an empty stomach."

The other players had no complaints about the "special" treatment they had received over the last two days, they just wanted to win the game.

They bore the hopes of Northern California and knew from their elders that Chinese people could endure much more hardship than this.

Moved by everyone's attitude, Beelman said, "I'm proud of you. The people of Los Angeles will pay for their arrogance."

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At 6:30 p.m., the Shui Zhong Team donned their red jerseys and took to the floor of the Great Western Forum Arena. (The actual 1982 CIF finals took place at the Oakland Arena, and the 1983 event in Los Angeles.)

Yesterday, the Lakers had just played a game against the Cavaliers on their home court, and the floor hadn't been changed, with the Lakers' LOGO still at center court.

A banner reading "California state basketball championship" hung over the scorer's table.

The Forum Arena, which can accommodate more than 17,000 people, was already filled with over 15,000 spectators as the game neared its start, with fans still streaming in.

In the current NBA League, the Lakers are the most popular team with the best attendance at home games, but the last regular-season game had only attracted about 14,000 fans.

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The influence of the California Championship Game was clear to see.

In such a large sports arena, facing tens of thousands of fans, the psychological experience was completely different from that of playing in smaller venues.

The towering dome, dazzling lights, and deafening noise were like that of the Roman Colosseum or a grand religious altar.

The players were gladiators, sacrificial offerings to the gods, standing on the court where the game was not just a game, but a duel, a sacrifice for their faith.

Tonight, Shui Zhong Team's opponent was Riverbank Polytechnic High School from Los Angeles. Before this game, the two teams had never encountered each other and knew nothing about each other.

In the 1980s, when video technology wasn't advanced, neither team had watched the other's game footage, so they knew nothing about each other—it was a complete encounter battle.

The only person who had any understanding of Riverbank High was Gan Guoyang, because he saw a familiar name on the game roster: Reggie Miller.

Before the start of the game, Gan Guoyang put his arm around Xu Xun's shoulder and said, "Axun, keep a close eye on number 30 during the game, don't let your guard down just because he's far from the basket."

Xu Xun nodded. He was Shui Zhong Team's perimeter defensive ace, a tenacious defensive guard who dared to cling to any of California's super perimeter scorers.

The game was about to begin, and the commentators, referees, journalists, and announcers took their places, while several large TV live broadcast cameras around the court aimed at the playing field.

This was a live broadcast, and hundreds of thousands of Californian TV viewers would watch the game at home—the game's ratings exceeded those of an average NBA game.

During the entrance ceremony, when the announcer called out "Sunny-Gump's" name, there was a small stir in the stands, and some people in a certain area cheered.

Gan Guoyang glanced in that direction. The lights in the stands were out, leaving darkness and an unclear view, but it was probably a group of Chinese fans from Los Angeles.

When introducing the players from Riverbank Polytechnic High School, the noise in the arena was clearly much louder, especially when "Reggie Miller" was mentioned.

It wasn't because Reggie Miller was so famous in Los Angeles, he was a decent player, but the one who was truly famous was his sister—an All-America women's basketball superstar known for scoring 105 points in a single game, Cheryl Miller.

She was a household name in Southern California, a basketball star everyone knew. Reggie was just her poor brother living in her shadow.

The live camera timely switched to Cheryl Miller, who was sitting courtside, watching the game. The siblings looked nearly identical, both tall and slender.

The game began in an oppressive, somber atmosphere. First, because the game was very important as it was the first time Southern and Northern California competed for dominance, and both sides, from players to coaches, were very nervous and cautious.

Second, because the basketball game had few entertaining elements at the time, there were no cheerleaders on-site and no fancy and fun interactive activities. The fans in the arena seemed to be watching a serious play, an aspect that improved in subsequent competitions.

Both teams started off playing offense and defense slowly, with positional warfare, zone defense, and continuous ball movement, taking their shots cautiously.

The two teams, with no prior experience against each other, were testing each other's strength, like a snake and a leopard encountering each other in the wild.

The leopard looked more formidable, with sharp teeth and claws, seemingly able to slap the snake to death with one paw.

But the snake was venomous, and a single bite would be the end of the leopard.

Riverbank Polytechnic High School was more like the venomous snake, their leading scorer being the seemingly weak and unremarkable number 30.

Only Gan Guoyang knew in his heart that this was a dangerous player.

To facilitate TV live broadcasts and to accommodate plenty of advertisers, the finals were no longer played in a two-half format but changed to a 4-quarter, 48-minute system.

This posed a greater challenge for the players' stamina and team rotations, and it was also the reason why Beelman insisted on finding a place to warm up during the day.

Gan Guoyang joined his team's offense and defense sluggishly in the first quarter. He held back his teeth and claws, constantly circling the venomous snake.

On the court, the teams were evenly matched, and by the end of the first quarter, the score was tied at 16:16. Gan Guoyang scored 4 points and grabbed 7 rebounds during the first quarter.

Both teams' offenses were mild, with a large amount of the scoring coming from outside shooting. Both teams maintained zone defenses, giving rise to numerous opportunities from the perimeter.

Then, in the second quarter, the style of play suddenly changed.

The pace of the game quickened. Gan Guoyang didn't rest off the court—Shui Zhong Team's offense and defense couldn't afford to be without him for a moment.

Reggie Miller suddenly made a move in defense, stealing the ball from Franklin's hands and then dribbling upcourt with a slightly knocked-kneed gait.

As he approached the basket, Miller slowed down slightly. He adjusted his pace, prepared for a two-handed dunk.

At that moment, he caught a glimpse of his sister from the corner of his eye. She was standing up from her seat—was she getting ready to cheer for his dunk?

But something seemed off about her expression. She was shouting something. What was she shouting? The Great Western Forum was too noisy, and Miller couldn't hear clear.

He jumped up, intent on his two-handed slam, but then a large hand reached over from behind and forcefully slammed the ball down.

[... I found out later that my sister wasn't standing up to cheer for me. She was shouting at me, 'There's someone behind you!' The Great Western Forum was too loud, and I didn't hear her.]

————————Excerpt from Reggie Miller's 1996 autobiography "I Love Being the Enemy".