The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 27 Cat and Mouse
For Gan Guoyang, the competition has not really begun yet.

From the pre-match warm-up, Gan Guoyang was observing his opponent, Lihua Middle School.

The team's average height is not high, but they are well-organized and have uniform hairstyles, clearly indicating that they are a well-trained, collective team, and they will most likely play a fast-paced game.

To completely defeat such a team, you must destroy their teamwork and ideally force them into playing individually.

Five minutes into the game, Gan Guoyang observed that Wang Tianduo, the opposing point guard number 5, was the offensive core of Lihua Middle School.

He was very experienced in ball control and quick on defense, even outmaneuvering Gan Guoyang with a behind-the-back pass after a breakthrough.

Everyone else was following his instructions; he was undoubtedly the team's brain.

Gan Guoyang has already set his sights on him.

However, before dealing with Wang Tianduo, Gan Guoyang spent the first five minutes building confidence in his teammates and easing their tension.

In the five minutes that followed, he didn't take a single shot himself, but instead kept giving opportunities to players like Chen Xing and Xu Xun, while he was responsible for providing offensive rebounding support.

With Gan Guoyang's constant rebounding control in the paint, Chen Xing and others gradually stopped being afraid and hesitant, and instead took bold shots, regardless of whether they went in or not, since someone could grab the rebound anyway.

Gan Guoyang demonstrated his significant advantages in speed, strength, and agility.

He recalled that when he was developing his character in 2K, rebounding was the next skill to improve after strength, shooting, and blocking.

Besides physical ability, the most important factors for rebounding are brains and the desire to grab the rebound.

Anticipating the move beforehand and moving nimbly and precisely are more important than jumping ability or height.

Gan Guoyang seems to be able to predict the direction of the ball, always managing to position himself in advance and secure offensive rebounds from two or three opponents.

This is thanks to his observation of his teammates. Chen Xing, Da Xiong, Xu Xun, Gan Guohui... Gan Guoyang knows their shooting characteristics like the back of his hand.

Who tends to shoot too long, who tends to shoot too short, whose trajectory is relatively straight, and who always hits the basket.

All of these factors affect the ball's trajectory, which in turn affects Gan Guoyang's positioning.

Everything happened silently in his mind; no one knew how he found the ball's landing point.

Most people would assume it's simply because he's the tallest, has the longest arms, and is the strongest.

Losing rebounds repeatedly dealt a heavy blow to Lihua Middle School's morale. Their initial advantage of two steals and fast breaks quickly vanished after losing rebounds one after another.

The coach of Lihua Middle School kept reminding the players to grab rebounds, position themselves in advance, and not let number 11 get the rebounds easily.

However, Li Hua's two inside players knew that number 11 was not only tall and had long arms, but also very fast, extremely agile, and had an extraordinary sense of rebounding.

"He's not even on the same level as us; he's messing with us."

The experienced players from Lihua Middle School, who were clear-headed and had watched and played a lot of games, already had a premonition that they would not be able to beat Beiqiao in this match.

In high school teams, a superb inside player is decisive; no matter how hard you try, it's hard to beat them.

Of course, younger players, those with drive and passion in their bones, think the game is still a long way off and has only just begun.

That's what Wang Tianduo was thinking. He's a 15-year-old high school sophomore who started playing basketball in elementary school and became the core player of the team when he entered Lihua High School.

His dream is to play basketball at the University of San Francisco and become a Chinese-American college player who can compete in the NCAA.

He had recently heard about Gan Guoyang. He hadn't seen Gan Guoyang play, but he knew that everyone was amazed and said that he was the hope of Chinese basketball.

Young people are always defiant on the field. After listening to others talk too much before the match, he got annoyed and became determined to defeat Gan Guoyang.

Only after the two clashed did he realize that Gan Guoyang was truly formidable.

He's already got two blocks in the paint; this guy's shot-blocking skills are amazing, but that doesn't mean he has no chance.

"Hey! Wang Tianduo, did you hear me? We need to be more patient in our positional attack."

Wang Tianduo nodded, but he didn't listen to what the coach said; he was only thinking about how to deal with Gan Guoyang on the field later.

The timeout ended, and the game resumed. Xu Xun stepped to the free-throw line and made both free throws, giving Beiqiao a 10-6 lead.

Wang Tianduo dribbled the ball across half-court and initiated an attack.

In the 80s, without a three-point line, positional offense was very limited.

Perimeter players typically dribble with a high center of gravity, which is suitable for pull-up jump shots and turnaround back-to-the-basket offense.

Their dribbling skills are also very simple and unpretentious. They habitually turn to the side and use their buttocks to protect the ball, because the defender can reach out and interfere.

Breaking through is a difficult thing; there will always be a big guy standing there under the basket, and it's not easy to challenge him.

Street-style crossovers, exaggerated swings, and continuous between-the-legs dribbling were not brought into school games; coaches did not allow players to play like that.

In Gan Guoyang's opinion, the players from Lihua Middle School are all too slow. He can easily keep up with anyone, from the center to the guard.

He could even deliberately leave the paint, creating an opening for his opponent to drive to the basket, then suddenly step in and deliver a big block.

This is fishing defense.

However, when he showed a weakness this time, Wang Tianduo used the screen to drive into the basket, used his speed to shake off Gan Guoyang's defense, and scored a layup!

After scoring, Wang Tianduo breathed a sigh of relief. He seized the opportunity and was not afraid of Gan Guoyang's block.

Gan Guoyang appeared calm and collected, silently inbounding the ball and continuing to act as an offensive rebounder.

Beiqiao's offense was very simple. With Gan Guoyang not attacking in the low post much, Chen Xing and Xu Xun took turns driving into the paint.

If he drives in and scores, he scores; if he misses, Gan Guoyang will grab the offensive rebound and either put it back in or pass it to a teammate.

Others would take a mid-range shot if they had the chance, and even if they missed, Gan Guoyang would still try to steal it.

It's that simple and brutal, yet they've consistently maintained a lead of about 5 points over Lihua Middle School.

Gan Guoyang looked a bit tired from playing, constantly grabbing rebounds, while his teammates' offensive efficiency was really low.

On the Lihua Middle School side, Wang Tianduo became the player with the highest offensive success rate in the team.

He repeatedly drove into the paint and scored layups, netting 8 consecutive points and helping Lihua Middle School stay close in the score. During a timeout in the first half, Bellman asked Gan Guoyang, "Keep an eye on that number 5. He's driven past you several times. Where's your speed?"

Gan Guoyang replied, "He can pass the ball; I need to keep an eye on his teammates."

"You have the capability to completely seal it off!"

"I know, I will do it, don't worry."

Bellman felt like he was punching cotton when facing Gan Guoyang.

This is his first time coaching a player like this. It seems like he listens to everything you say, but in reality, he doesn't listen at all.

He didn't understand why Gan Guoyang didn't attack himself, or why he didn't lock down the opponent on the defensive end.

At the Excel in Basketball training camp, during team training, the opponent's offense would completely stop if he wanted to.

Lihua High School is indeed well-trained and has decent players, but in San Francisco it's considered third or fourth-rate, lacking truly talented players.

With a single glance, Bellman knew that none of them had a future in the NCAA Division I, let alone the NBA.

Oh, if that number 5 were to grow a little taller, he might be able to play in the second division of a university league.

At halftime, Beiqiao Middle School led Lihua High School 29-24, a 5-point advantage.

Gan Guoyang scored 11 points and grabbed 21 rebounds, including 12 offensive rebounds...

In the dilapidated locker room, holding the stats, Bellman said to Gan Guoyang, "If you had attacked the basket directly with those 12 offensive rebounds, you would have scored twice as many points as you do now!"

Gan Guoyang shrugged and said, "What about my teammates? Besides, what's the difference between winning 100 points and winning 1 point?"

Berman was speechless; he felt that the game seemed to be under Gan Guoyang's control.

Just then, a mouse scurried out of the locker, startling everyone.

The guy who was afraid of mice even screamed, but Gan Guoyang stepped forward and stomped on the mouse's tail.

After it struggled for a while, I picked it up and threw it out of the locker room.

"Let it be, I'm not eating it either," Gan Guoyang said.

And a thought flashed through Bellman's mind:
Gan Guoyang was playing with the mouse he had caught, just like a cat.

Lihua Middle School is that rat.

This was only his first official match in his career.

The second half of the game began, and Gan Guoyang decided to end the game.

He once again exposed a weakness in his defense, leaving the three-second zone open to lure Wang Tianduo into a layup.

Wang Tianduo scored a team-high 13 points in the first half, 2 more than Gan Guoyang, but only had one assist.

He believed this game was a duel between the two of them, a fierce battle between Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Kyrie Irving.

When he drove to the basket again, his layup was blocked solidly by Gan Guoyang.

The ball was still in his hand, and before he could even release it, he was slammed down from mid-air, ball and all, and crashed heavily to the ground.

The referee didn't call a foul; it was a good play, and Gan Guoyang got the ball.

This time, Gan Guoyang didn't pass the ball to Chen Xing, but instead dribbled the ball across half-court himself.

He was very fast, like a heavy truck starting up, and no one dared to stop him.

He dribbled and broke through the entire court, drove into the basket, and slammed home a one-handed gliding dunk!
Thunderous cheers erupted in the Kayzal Stadium, and even the students of Lihua Middle School couldn't help but gasp.

After scoring, Gan Guoyang quietly ran back to the backfield to direct his teammates in defense.

Wang Tianduo's head was buzzing. He refused to believe it and saw an opening under the basket, so he charged in again. This time he slowed down, adjusted his body to the side, and made a series of fake shots, but he failed to fool Gan Guoyang.

The ball was out of play, and Gan Guoyang immediately closed in, leaving Wang Tianduo with no choice but to pass it out.

When teammates attack, the player has no feel for the ball and misses every shot.

Their collective attack was disrupted, and they barely managed any decent positional play in the first half.

Gan Guoyang grabbed the rebound and passed it to Chen Xing, signaling him to take a shot.

After crossing half-court, Gan Guoyang positioned himself low to block the defender, received the ball, and got into position very close to the basket.

Chen Xing delivered a timely lob pass, received the ball, turned around, and slammed it home with both hands, leaving the defender with no chance.

There was no way to resist; the difference in strength was too great.

Although Gan Guoyang does not do strength training after training, in order to prevent excessive strength training from causing the sutures to close and stunting growth.

But his talent made his strength second to none, and at that point, the defenders realized that the first half was just a joke.

Wang Tianduo was not giving up. He didn't realize this, so he charged towards the opening with the ball for the third time.

This time he opted for a close-range pull-up jump shot, and then a large hand came closer and closer, knocking his shot away in mid-air.

The ball then fell into Gan Guoyang's hands, who made a super long pass to the frontcourt with one hand. Chen Xing rushed to the basket to receive the ball and easily made a layup.

At the start of the second half, Beiqiao Middle School scored a 6-0 lead against Lihua, prompting Lihua to call a timeout!
Only then did Wang Tianduo realize that his consecutive successful breakthroughs in the first half were nothing more than a trap set by his opponents, a psychological trap.

He thought he could compete with them based on his individual abilities, but he overlooked the team's organization.

Their initial tacit understanding gradually turned into a disorganized mess due to a lack of coordination.

In the second half, when Gan Guoyang exerted his strength and opened his hand, they were about to be blown away by the wind.

For a 15-year-old boy, his mental state is gradually collapsing.

He realized that this number 11 was a monster on the field that he couldn't even look up to.

(End of this chapter)