The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 706 Top Eight
The fact that the Chinese team won both of their first two matches, defeating Lithuania and Puerto Rico, can be said to have greatly exceeded Jiang Xingquan's expectations.

Of course, this also puzzled Jiang Xingquan. How big is the difference in strength between the Chinese team with and without Gan Guoyang? How would the Chinese team perform against Lithuania and Puerto Rico without Gan Guoyang?

Jiang Xingquan was not optimistic, because even with Gan Guoyang on the team, they only won by 1 point against Puerto Rico, and that was a last-minute game-winning shot.

Without Gan Guoyang, one can imagine what the situation would be like.

In the third game, Jiang Xingquan really wanted Gan Guoyang to take a break.

He wanted to see just how capable the Chinese team really was, and how their previous team formation and training would compare to the level of the Olympics.

In the first two games, Gan Guoyang played for more than 35 minutes in each game, and his continuous playing time in each half exceeded 15 minutes. Even an iron man would get tired.

If Gan Guoyang gets injured, not only will the performance of the Chinese men's basketball team in this Olympics be affected, but Jiang Xingquan may also be blamed by fans across the country, basketball association leaders, and even higher-level leaders.

Don't you have any other tactics or methods as a coach? All you know is to keep using Gan Guoyang, keep using Gan Guoyang? What's the use of a coach like you? We could replace you with the old man from our village.

Jiang Xingquan could foresee the kind of blame he would face if Gan Guoyang were injured.

Therefore, after the match, Jiang Xingquan discussed with Gan Guoyang, hoping that he would not play in the third match, or that he could play for a while at the beginning and then take a rest.

After a moment's thought, Gan Guoyang politely declined Coach Jiang's offer, saying, "I can play less in the third match, but I can't skip it, nor can I leave after just a short while."

When asked about his reasons, Gan Guoyang said, "I'm playing for the national team, and there are definitely many fans watching on TV waiting to see me play. If I don't play, many people will be disappointed. There will also be many Chinese fans at the stadium, some of whom may have spent a lot of money and effort to come to Barcelona just to see me play. If I don't play, they may never have the chance to see me play live again in their lives. I can't let them down, don't you think?"

Jiang Xingquan realized at this moment that Gan Guoyang was not only a player, but also an idol and a star.

He carries a lot of expectations and hopes from many fans, and his position is different from that of ordinary players.

"And don't worry, I'm in great shape and not easily injured. The intensity of the Olympics is just child's play for me."

Gan Guoyang is very confident in his health, not only because he has a good natural foundation, but also because his training is very important.

Strong muscles provide excellent protection for bones and ligaments; moderate and scientific training can actually be beneficial to health.

What is undesirable is excessive and unscientific training, as well as playing too many or too high-intensity matches when training is insufficient.

Jiang Xingquan knew he couldn't persuade Gan Guoyang otherwise, so he had to agree to let him play for about 30 minutes in the next match.

The Chinese team's next opponent is the formidable CIS team, and they may not be able to win in a direct confrontation.

After Gan Guoyang's two outstanding performances, teams have begun to take notice of this NBA number one player.

On the 28th, all the basketball teams were given a break. The players could relax, travel around Barcelona, ​​or go to other venues to watch other games.

Gan Guoyang took his family to the shooting range to watch the shooting competition. Shooting has always been a major event in which China wins medals, and the first gold medal is often won in the field of shooting.

At the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, Gan Guoyang and Wang Fuxi witnessed the birth of China's first-ever Olympic gold medal, and Xu Haifeng became China's first Olympic gold medalist.

Eight years later, Xu Haifeng returned to the Olympic stage, but due to a retinal problem, his condition was not as good as before, and winning a gold medal was very difficult for him.

At that time, China had not been open to the world for long and lagged far behind developed countries in sports.

A gold medal is not only an individual honor for athletes, but also represents the country and the nation, and athletes bear a lot of pressure.

At the 1988 Seoul Olympics, the shooting team suffered a major setback, failing to win a single gold medal.

Before departing from Beijing, the shooting team promised the sports bureau that they would win a gold medal at this Olympics.

Today, the person bearing the pressure is Wang Yifu, who is the main force for China's gold medal in the 25-meter air pistol event.

However, Wang Yifu's physical condition was not very good. During the preliminary round in the morning, Wang Yifu felt dizzy.

He had been seriously ill a few months before the competition and had only been discharged from the hospital a month ago. He was very weak and his face was still swollen.

Shooting may seem like a static activity, but it is actually very mentally taxing for athletes.

During his lunch break, Wang Yifu closed his eyes to rest and try to recover his physical strength and energy.

He ranked second in the morning preliminaries, behind Romanian star Babi.

The shooting team coach suddenly woke him up and said, "Yoshifu, someone's here to visit you and give you a boost."

Wang Yifu thought to himself, "Who is it that's cheering me on? I need to rest, what's the point of cheering me on? Could it be some leader?"
When he opened his eyes, he saw a huge figure standing in front of him. When he looked up, he realized it was Forrest Gump.

Gan Guoyang's name and face are household names in China, and he is undoubtedly the number one celebrity in the Chinese national team.

But apart from flying and the opening ceremony, no other athlete could see Gan Guoyang because he stayed in a star-rated hotel and was transported by helicopter, giving people a feeling of being high above and untouchable.

But now, Gan Guoyang stood in front of Wang Yifu, the two shook hands, hugged, and encouraged each other.

Gan Guoyang told Wang Yifu, "Actually, whether you win a gold medal or not, just participating in the Olympics is a success. But I believe you will definitely win this gold medal. As for my gold medal... I'm afraid there's no hope for me."

Wang Yifu looked much better and laughed, "Shooting and basketball are different. We have different roles in the revolution, so we can't treat them with the same standards. The first two games have already shown the spirit of Chinese basketball!"

After exchanging compliments, Wang Yifu felt his mental stress greatly relieved.

Because under immense pressure, a word of encouragement from someone of influence can significantly change one's mindset.

The coach also devised a strategy for Wang Yifu, not to pursue a perfect score of 10, but to strive for 9.5 or 9.6, and not to have a score that was too low.

This tactic helped Wang Yifu reduce the pressure, and in the afternoon's match, Wang Yifu strengthened his resolve and readjusted his form.

In the battle, shot after shot, Wang Yifu gradually narrowed the gap. He didn't score high scores like 9.8 or 9.9, but he also didn't score low scores like 9.0 or 8.9.

His score remained consistently around 9.5, allowing him to steadily progress and seek opportunities to surpass others.

Until the very last shot, Wang Yifu's rival for the gold medal only scored 8.9 points, and he knew his chance had come.

As a result, Wang Yifu calmed down and scored 9.7 points, successfully winning the championship!
At that moment, all the Chinese spectators present, including Gan Guoyang, stood up and cheered for Wang Yifu.

Wang Yifu finally breathed a sigh of relief, waved to Gan Guoyang on the stage, and thanked him for his encouragement.

The Chinese shooting team won a precious gold medal, shedding the heavy burden that had been building since the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

After watching the shooting competition, Gan Guoyang and his family arranged to go for a night tour of Barcelona with the Stockton family.

During the day, Gan Guoyang is too big and too obvious a target. Once he goes out on the street, he can hardly move an inch and needs the police and security guards to clear the way.

The situation was slightly better at night under the cover of darkness, and Stockton was practically invisible, even less noticeable than Leitner in the Dream Team.

Leitner is at least 2.10 meters tall, while Stockton is only of average height. Plus, with his appearance, he looks like Gan Guoyang's agent when they walk together.

Even so, Gan Guoyang still brought three bodyguards with him to protect himself and his family. Barcelona is a city perfect for strolling and walking; unlike American cities, European cities here have old towns that retain many historical traces.

The architecture here has a strong Picasso influence, with various strange spires, inlaid murals, circular arches and other abstract styles everywhere.

As a city that values ​​arts education and atmosphere, Barcelona's nights are often more vibrant than its days.

By the 1990s, the economy of people in major Spanish cities was already quite developed.

While many urban residents in China are still struggling to make ends meet and their families live in small houses, the people of Barcelona live like they do in Rome.

When there are no sports meets, their daily schedule is to have dinner at 10 p.m., get completely drunk, sleep until noon the next day, have a three-hour lunch, chat and laugh, play and have fun, and then get ready for dinner.

Gan Guoyang felt the prosperity, enthusiasm, and a touch of absurdity of the place. The Olympics made it even more dazzling and vibrant. He heard that the Olympic Committee distributed more than 50,000 condoms to the athletes in the Olympic Village.

The last Seoul Olympics only supplied more than 8000, which was clearly not enough.

The IOC has increased supplies to ensure that men and women can have a peak competition during this rare event.

It's important to understand that athletes are all incredibly energetic, and their needs in certain areas are far greater than those of ordinary people.

Most athletes train very hard and are isolated for long periods without a normal social life. In order to conserve their physical strength, they often have to abstain from sex.

The Olympics is a great opportunity to let loose; once your competition is over, you can spend the rest of your time having fun.

We're all young people, and many of the athletes are tall and handsome. If we hit it off, we can find a place and have a passionate encounter.

So whether 50,000 condoms are enough is a question.

Of course, players like the Dream Team and Gan Guoyang, who receive close attention, don't have many opportunities.

Especially since most of them have wives and children with them, they can only be nice guys.

The children were tired early on, so Gan Guoyang carried one in each arm, and they fell into a deep sleep in their father's embrace.

After returning to the hotel and saying goodbye to Stockton, Gan Guoyang secretly invited Lightner out for a drink.

In the first two games, Leitner didn't get much playing time, only appearing briefly during garbage time.

Leitner was prepared for this, but it was still really unpleasant to be consistently sidelined while on the Dream Team.

Here, the spotlight is always on Jordan, Johnson, and Barkley; even prostitutes are more willing to serve them than the unknown Laettner.

Stockton may be less famous, but he has a wife and children, so he doesn't need fame. Lightner is different; he feels troubled and needs to confide in Forrest Gump.

Gan Guoyang continued to skillfully manage the atmosphere of the conversation, agreeing with Lennart's words while subtly probing for information, such as the Magician's injury.

Johnson was injured in the first half against Croatia, but returned to the field in the second half, though his injury had not fully healed.

Leitner told Gan Guoyang that Johnson is currently unable to participate in training, and his leg is definitely affected.

As for Stockton, he can train and engage in physical contact, but high-intensity physical contact is probably not suitable for him.

If that's the case, the Dream Team's point guard problem will be magnified, since they only have two proper point guards.

So in the match against Croatia, Pippen was in charge of organizing the offense for most of the second half.

This might be another hidden problem for the Dream Team that can be exploited.

Magic Johnson is a tough guy to deal with. If he's at his peak, the Chinese team won't know how to defend him.

Although Stockton lacked strength, he knew Gan Guoyang very well.

If he were to connect the Dream Team, Gan Guoyang would be in big trouble as well.

On the contrary, players like Pippen, Barkley, Robinson, Malone, and Ewing were all defeated opponents or were countered by him.

If a real fight breaks out, it will be easier to handle.

Gan Guoyang went to great lengths to minimize his losses when playing against the Dream Team.

To be honest, he didn't even have this much trouble winning an NBA championship; he really gave it his all.

On July 29th, the Chinese team played their third group stage match against the CIS.

The CIS team is essentially the former Soviet Union, but not the complete Soviet Union.

They don't even have a proper national flag; the once vibrant red flag has to be replaced with the Olympic five-ring flag.

The CIS retained some of the strength of the Soviet Union's basketball team, and its strength remains formidable.

They won their first two matches, and the CIS team made very thorough preparations to face the Chinese team, which included Gan Guoyang.

However, the Chinese team's confidence has also risen, and they are not easily defeated.

Even though Gan Guoyang was substituted early, the Chinese team was still able to play their own game and didn't completely collapse.

Sun Jun played exceptionally well, excelling in both offense and playmaking, scoring 23 points and dishing out 4 assists.

Gan Guoyang did not show a particularly strong offensive desire, playing only 30 minutes and scoring 26 points and 11 rebounds.

中国队以87:94，7分的差距惜败于独联体，小组赛2胜1负。

After three matches, the Chinese team won 2 and lost 1, but their net points were still negative.

The last two matches are against Australia on the 31st and Venezuela on August 2nd.

Gan Guoyang showed no mercy, and his teamwork with his teammates improved significantly.

Against Australia, Gan Guoyang delivered another outstanding performance with 44 points and 21 rebounds.

With a score of 89-80, the Australians were defeated by a 9-point advantage. With a record of 3 wins and 1 loss in the group stage, they secured their place in the quarterfinals.

On August 2nd, against Venezuela, the weakest team in the group, the Chinese team performed exceptionally well.

甘国阳31分13个篮板球11次助攻，打出了一场三双表现，帮助球队100:81，19分的优势大胜对手！

Ultimately, the Chinese team finished with a record of 4 wins and 1 loss, tying for first place in winning percentage with Lithuania and the CIS. However, due to their net points, they ranked third in the group and successfully advanced to the quarterfinals!
Group A has also been ranked, and the team that will face China in the first round of the knockout stage is Petrovic's team, Croatia.

(End of this chapter)