After Gan Guoyang hit a shocking long shot, Tigers coach Larry Orwell could only call a timeout.
The point difference is widening. The key is that the Tigers become more and more confused on the court. They cannot break the Water Bell team's zone defense.
For high school players, whether it is defending a zone defense or breaking a zone defense, it is not an easy task.
The Water Bell team maintained the tenacity of the zone defense with their good discipline and hard daily training.
As time went by, the Tigers' pre-game anger began to leak out little by little, and Orwell could feel the frustration on everyone's faces.
How should he encourage his players? In fact, it is difficult, because the two teams have no grudges and this is not a critical game.
It is crucial for the Water Bell team, but for Fremont High School, winning or losing is more of a matter of face.
There had been rumors in the past that the white high schools in Oakland were afraid to win at Tiger Stadium because the people around Fremont were really crazy and a lot of people hated white people.
But the Water Bell team is different. They are Asians, and in some aspects their situation is very similar to that of black people. Tonight, they all played like fighters who don't care about death.
Everyone knows that they have a reason to win, and they also bring the belief that they must win. This kind of bravery is respectable.
Larry Orwell looked up at the timer. There were only eight minutes left before the end of the second half.
The Tigers are already 11 points behind the Water Bell, and they still have a chance. If they make good use of their home court advantage, play some tricks, and put some pressure on the referees, the outcome is uncertain.
But what about winning against the Water Bells? Oakland beats San Francisco? This was all fucking created by the San Francisco sports media who had nothing to do in October.
However, Larry Orwell felt that it was not worth it to let the Fremont Tigers be the wedding dress of the Water Bells. This will definitely be recorded in the sports chronicles of the Bay Area and will be engraved forever.
This kind of inner struggle and delay prevented Orwell from calming down and arranging tactics properly.
The coach himself has been shaken in military morale, so how can the players perform well?
On the other hand, Bellman did not give up spitting on the players because of their outstanding performance.
"It's too slow to replenish defense Chen!"
"Xu, your shooting is like shit. My grandma can shoot better than you."
"Franklin, you disappeared in the second half? Did I not pay you for the second half?"
Only Gan Guoyang stood there with his hands on his hips, and Behrman automatically jumped over when it was his turn.
Gan Guoyang's performance was almost perfect, and Behrman knew that this kid didn't give his best at all.
From this battle, Bellman began to have confidence in the Water Bell team and had greater prospects.
But the game is not over yet. Once you show a flaw in Tiger Stadium, your opponent will bite you and give you a fatal counterattack.
For the Water Bell team, the last five minutes are a huge test. As physical energy is consumed, more and more loopholes will appear in the zone defense.
Franklin, who performed well in the first half, saw his efficiency drop sharply due to increased physical exertion and the Tigers' high-intensity defense.
He missed two breakthrough layups and one shot was blocked by Hurlburt. Franklin fell to the ground and the referee did not call a foul.
The Tigers counterattacked, and Turner went ahead and succeeded in a layup. They narrowed the point difference to 5 points, 57:52. The Tigers saw hope.
Franklin struggled to get up from the ground. He was panting and his thighs and arms were trembling.
Because he changed schools, dropped out of school many times, and spent a lot of time on the streets, he lacked systematic physical training.
Upon seeing this, Bellman called a timeout and asked Franklin to sit on the bench and rest for a while.
Also suffering from physical problems was Chen Xing. He was not a professional player and spent the entire game trying to protect the ball in his hands.
With only two turnovers, Chen Xing has tried his best. If he continues to stay on the court, it will be very fatal if the ball handler makes frequent mistakes in the final stage.
Bellman kept Franklin on the court and replaced Chen Xing with substitute defender Huang Zhenfan.
Huang Zhenfan is the grandson of Huang Shaohua. He is not tall, only 168cm tall, even shorter than Chen Xing.
But he loves basketball, has good ball control, has a strong body, and has good shooting skills.
Bellman gave him only two tasks: first, not to make mistakes and lose the ball, and second, to pass the ball safely to Gan Guoyang.
But I don’t know if it was nerves or the Tigers’ defensive intensity in the final stages.
Huang Zhenfan made a mistake when he came up to feed the ball inside - he was too short, had poor vision, and was slow to release the ball, and was intercepted by the Tigers.
During the counterattack, Henry Turner once again took the lead, rushing to the front and bombing the basket.
With the gap down to just three points, Tiger Stadium became a hellscape, noisy, hot and stuffy on a cool October night, with so many people crammed into it that the air was stale.
The physical fitness of both sides has reached the limit. When Gan Guoyang served from the baseline, he reminded Huang Zhenfan, "Don't be anxious, I will come out to respond later, don't pass in."
Huang Zhenfan nodded and calmed down his emotions. The huge pressure will make people collapse. At this time, someone must stand up and hold up the backbone of the whole team.
As expected, Gan Guoyang met Huang Zhenfan at the high post. After receiving the ball, he immediately transferred the ball to Franklin - Franklin only scored 2 points in the second half.
After the two of them cooperated hand-to-hand, Gan Guoyang immediately followed the pass. He did not go to a very deep position, because the deeper the cut, the easier it is for mistakes to be made in the pass.
Franklin passed a short pass to Gan Guoyang. Gan Guoyang received the ball and moved a little inside the corner. He feinted with a fake move and Helberg moved.
Gan Guoyang dropped the ball, accelerated to break through Herbert, got to the basket and succeeded with an easy rebound.
The gymnasium became much quieter again. Gan Guoyang was weak and strong. No one could stop him tonight, and he did not stop the Tigers.
Facing the zone defense, the Tigers played a very clever coordination. The point guard took the ball from the sideline to the corner, passed the ball, cut inside to accelerate, and then passed the ball in.
Relying on the center's cover, the point guard broke through the zone defense and reached the basket. There was an open space under the basket, and the Tigers' point guard chose a throw.
It seemed to be a sure thing, but unexpectedly a giant came out from the side and hit the ball to the backboard with a big hat. The ball was controlled by Gan Guoyang.
On the sidelines, little Gary held his head and looked frustrated, "Why don't you lay up, why do you want to throw! Why don't you lay up, this XX, XX, XXX!"
He thought that if it were him, he would definitely choose to go for a reverse layup, or hit a rebound layup after a confrontation to avoid the block, instead of making a non-confrontational throw and waiting to be blocked.
Gan Guoyang, who won the backcourt rebound, dribbled the ball past half court. Although his dribbling was a bit clumsy, no one came to stop him. The legs of the Tigers players felt like lead.
Facing Herbert, he accelerated past him, went directly to the basket, and succeeded in an easy layup!
At 61:54, the Water Bell team regained a 7-point lead. After scoring the goal, Gan Guoyang raised his arms and shouted, no one in this stadium can stop him!
Orwell used the last timeout, but with less than two minutes left before the end of the game, they were unable to recover.
In an era without three-pointers and a slow offensive pace, a 7-point gap is difficult to erase in a short time.
The audience at the scene held their heads in disbelief. Could it be that the Tigers were going to lose to a Chinese team in San Francisco like this?
When the final whistle sounded, the score was fixed at 63:58. The Water Bell bench cheered, and they rushed into the court and hugged each other.
In this game, Gan Guoyang played for 40 minutes without a minute's rest. He scored 31 points, 22 rebounds and 8 blocks. He was the number one contributor to the team's victory.
Gan Guoyang's statistics are reminiscent of Moses Malone in high school - that guy averaged 36 points, 26 rebounds and 12 blocks per game in his senior year, and the team remained undefeated for two years.
After the Water Bells won, there was no riot at Tiger Stadium as expected. On the contrary, the fans applauded the Water Bells' performance.
In addition to students, there were also neighbors who came to watch the game. Among them were adults, old people, and women. They may look down on Asians, but they don’t hate yellow skin like they hate white people. In the car accident caused by Toyota, Before the wave of unemployment in the manufacturing industry.
The Waterbells earned the respect of the Oakland ghetto with their brilliant performance.
Of course, for the people of Fremont High School, they can applaud the victors at this time, and they can still leave a good reputation, otherwise they will be said to be a sore loser.
When leaving the field, Gan Guoyang did not forget to say hello to little Gary on the sidelines. He had a towel hanging on his shoulders, looked down at Gary with his hands on his hips, and said: "If you are not convinced, come to the stadium and find me. I will accompany you at any time."
“I fucking will, you fucking wait!”
There was no way Gary could have said anything, but his voice was obviously trembling.
However, Gan Guoyang is already a senior in high school and Gary has not yet entered high school.
It will take 10 years for the two to actually face off in the arena.
