"How do you feel today?"
Standing in the center circle, before jumping the ball, Gan Guoyang asked Stephenson, who was standing opposite him.
The round-headed Stephenson looked at Gan Guoyang without saying a word. He didn't know what kind of medicine this kid was selling in his gourd.
Gan Guoyang asked again, "I'm asking you, how are you feeling today? Why don't you answer? It's very rude of you."
Stephenson had no choice but to say firmly: "I feel great, what's wrong?"
Stephenson's tone was legitimately hostile. This was the San Francisco League championship game, and Washington High School was aiming to win.
Their strength is not only one of the best in the San Francisco League, but also top-notch in the entire California. The San Francisco League championship is just a small goal.
"It's nothing, I just asked. We in China are a country of etiquette, and you are really rude."
Stephenson was dubious, and he was wary of Gan Guoyang.
This guy is said to have had a passionate spat with Al Payton's son on the sidelines during a game between Oakland and Fremont High School, and the little Payton was left speechless.
Al Payton is the coach of an amateur team in Oakland and is known for his trash talk. Stephenson played with their team, and Al is like a crow who can quack all the time.
His son is exactly the same as Al, but he was sprayed by Gan Guoyang to the point of being autistic. How could Stephenson not be vigilant.
However, the referee reminded them to stop talking and the game was about to start. They stood in the middle circle and jumped the ball.
Gan Guoyang took the lead in getting the ball, and the attack started with the Water Bell team.
Chen Xing quickly passed the half court with the ball. With new glasses, he also played with a completely new look.
Compared with three months ago, his dribbling is much more stable and his command on the court is more confident.
Franklin received a pass from Chen Xing, held the ball from the wing and made a sudden jump shot, but missed.
Stephenson used his body to block Gan Guoyang, preventing him from rushing up to grab offensive rebounds.
His 20 offensive rebounds in the last game impressed Washington High School.
However, Gan Guoyang did not rush for the ball, but retreated quickly, not giving Washington a chance to quickly counterattack.
The Water Bell team's retreat defense was in place quickly, and Washington High School could only give up counterattack and turn to positional warfare.
The mid-range shot missed and the rebound was collected by Gan Guoyang.
The two sides started the game quite dull. After all, it was the championship game, and the players played very cautiously.
Everyone is very focused, the defense is full of intensity, the rotation is clear, and there is no gap.
After several rounds of back and forth, both sides gained nothing, and the score was always 0:0.
The audience is looking forward to who will be the first to break the deadlock on the court.
An underwhelming position attack from the Water Bells.
Gan Guoyang came out to support Chen Xing and alleviate the defensive pressure he suffered.
After receiving the ball at a high position, Chen Xing tried to use Gan Guoyang's screen to get rid of the defense.
The defense was tight and difficult to break away from, and everyone else on the Water Bell team was moving to create opportunities for Franklin.
Just when Washington High School's attention was on Franklin, Gan Guoyang, who had just been looking for someone with the ball, suddenly dropped the ball.
He headed directly from the center and broke through to the basket. Stephenson was unprepared, and Gan Guoyang used one arm to turn and dunk successfully!
The basket was shaking slightly, and the War Memorial Stadium, which had been quiet for a long time, finally burst into applause and cheers.
Fans in the 1980s were more reserved and applauded more than screamed.
Facing the water-bell team's airtight zone defense, Washington High School could not find an offensive breakthrough for a while and could only fire from the outside.
The ball didn't go in, but Gan Guoyang didn't get stuck with Stephenson at the basket. Instead, he watched the ball get to Stephenson for an offensive rebound.
Stephenson swung one, two, and three times at the basket but failed to shake Gan Guoyang away. In the end, his hook shot was blocked, and the ball was confiscated by Gan Guoyang before he could...
Gan Guoyang is not a monster like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar or Chamberlain, so his opponents have no desire to take action when they encounter him at the basket.
He is only one inch taller than Stephenson, and his arms are slightly longer. The two seem to be of the same size.
Many people get the ball under the basket and think they can challenge Forrest Gump, but they always end up disappointed.
Gan Guoyang has excellent timing in blocking shots, basically avoids fake moves, and reacts very quickly - when he played Chen Xing's Nintendo game "Koshigo Mori", he quickly passed the level.
This quality is sometimes more important than height, wingspan, and jumping.
Also, he has a very strong body. It is not easy to rely on confrontation to create space for the shot. You must be very strong.
Stephenson is strong but not as strong as Forrest, nor fast enough, nor decisive enough - he is avoiding Gan Guoyang, and the more he avoids, the easier it is to get hit.
Gan Guoyang, who succeeded in blocking the shot, came down quickly, received Chen Xing's ground pass, and easily succeeded in a layup.
With 4 points in a row and a block, Gan Guoyang had a good start.
When he returned to defense, he asked Stephenson again: "Hey Stephenson, how are you feeling today?"
Stephenson kept a dark face and said nothing. The outside defender Bobinho broke through in the middle. Gan Guoyang did not cover up the defense, but reached out and knocked away the exposed ball.
Washington High School still has the ball. Gan Guoyang's defensive state is very good tonight. Once the ball enters the vicinity of the three-second zone, it will be difficult to go to the basket.
The Washington High School coach on the sidelines shouted, hit the basket and don't flinch. Stephenson listened and then took another shot.
Then, Stephenson and David Bonner double-teamed Gan Guoyang in the low post to catch the ball. This move was used repeatedly in the previous confrontation between the two teams.
But this time Gan Guoyang received the ball from a further outside position. He dribbled out and handed the ball to Franklin who was accelerating.
Franklin sprinted to the basket, caused a defensive foul on the opponent's layup, and went to the free throw line to make two free throws.
Shuiqiao Middle School defeated Washington High School 6-0.
On the bench during the timeout, Stephenson had a bad feeling.
He felt like a prey that had been targeted by the hunter.
He was targeted from the start of the game.
This may be the instinct of people to realize danger, and they should run away once they feel this way.
But you can't run in a basketball game, Stephenson thought. It doesn't matter, I have help.
After the timeout, Washington High School, which came out of a chaotic start, scored from mid-range on the outside.
While on defense, Stephenson and Bonner began to be inseparable from Gan Guoyang, one sticking close to him and the other wandering nearby.
As for Beiqiao Middle School's No. 9 power forward Wu Zhixiong, just let him be, he has no offensive power.
Beiqiao didn't put their thoughts on Wu Zhixiong and continued to give the ball to Gan Guoyang to double-team him.
Gan Guoyang dribbled out again, gave the ball to Franklin, and looked for opportunities again.
The attack time is 35 seconds, enough to organize another attack.
Gan Guoyang changed direction, and when he went to the other side, he suddenly got stuck.
Franklin's pass was received immediately. Gan Guoyang dribbled past Stephenson, turned around and forced a layup, causing Stephenson to foul.
Made two free throws.
Gan Guoyang played much smarter than in the last game. He did not let himself fall into the encirclement easily and seized the opportunity immediately.
Stephenson felt the pressure on his shoulders suddenly increase. Gan Guoyang's flexible handling forced the two insiders to better allocate their work.
The score soon reached 15:10, with Beiqiao Middle School leading by 5 points. Washington High School's interior offense basically failed and could only rely on the outside.
During an attack, Gan Guoyang grabbed an offensive rebound. Stephenson and Bonner immediately surrounded him. Gan Guoyang did not rush forward and passed an inward pass to the overcoming Bear.
Wu Zhixiong was too slow and not tall. As soon as Bonner turned around and returned to defense, Wu Zhixiong wasted the opportunity for a layup.
But Wu Zhixiong was not slow in thinking, so he never thought about attacking. When Bonner came back from defense, he immediately returned the ball to Gan Guoyang.
At this time, Gan Guoyang rushed forward, caught the ball and hit a one-handed dunk directly across Stephenson!
The round-headed Stephenson was knocked out of the baseline like a doll, but he was also called for a blocking foul on this ball and had to be fined!
Gan Guoyang, who was dunking, looked down at Stephenson from above. After coming down, he asked loudly: "I asked you, how are you today? Why didn't you answer me!"
"You are so rude and impolite." With that said, Gan Guoyang hit an additional penalty.
Stephenson fell heavily, his chest hurt from being hit, and he was called rude. He didn't know where to go to reason.
The two sides entered the substitution stage, Stephenson went off to rest, and Gan Guoyang also went off to rest. He rarely rested before.
The absence of Gan Guoyang gave Washington High School the opportunity to chase points. The score quickly reached 21:18, and Beiqiao Middle School only led by three points.
Gan Guoyang immediately reappeared and hit a jump shot from the outside to help the team stabilize the situation.
Stephenson was still sitting on the sidelines. He even thought, I'll just keep sitting. I don't want to go up and get beaten.
The first half was almost over, and Stephenson had not scored yet. He blocked three shots and grabbed a few rebounds.
But the coach nodded to Stephenson, indicating that he was ready to play.
Stephenson felt a little aggrieved and said to the coach: "I feel terrible today."
The coach comforted him: "If we win the game, everything will be fine."
“I felt like I wasn’t supported.”
In the last game, he and Bonner surrounded and suppressed Gan Guoyang. Although Gan Guoyang had high statistics, the whole process was very fierce. Gan Guoyang still lost the game despite his head-on resistance.
But in this game, he felt that he was the only one being beaten. Bonner had nothing to do with him. He even scored 6 points. Gan Guoyang did not help defend him at the basket and allowed Bonner to kill Wu Zhixiong one-on-one.
"This is their strategy. Gan played smarter today, so you have to be more alert and tenacious. Come on, Stephenson!"
The coach is right. Faced with different strategies, players must adjust in time, and at the same time, they must resist tenaciously regardless of whether the situation is good or bad.
But after all, he is a high school player, and his emotions are easily affected and fluctuated. Gan Guoyang suppressed Stephenson physically and mentally from the beginning, making this guy a little timid.
Anyway, even if they lose this game and finish second, they can still enter the CIF State Championship, or even Division 1. This is determined by their strength and performance.
Once you play with this kind of thinking, especially in the interior, Washington High School's three-second zone defense quickly collapsed.
There was not much time left in the first half, and Gan Guoyang hit consecutive turnaround jumpers within two minutes.
His turnaround jump shot is not yet proficient and does not change much. If he studies it carefully and fights tenaciously, it can be controlled.
But Stephenson didn't. He was frightened by Gan Guoyang's fiery scoring momentum. At the end of the half, Gan Guoyang made 8 of 9 and scored 20 points.
When the whistle sounded, Gan Guoyang looked at Stephenson with the ball, and he refused to let him go.
Stephenson hurriedly said: "I don't feel good today, okay? I don't feel good."
Gan Guoyang smiled and said, "If you had said this earlier, I would have been nicer to you, right, Bonner?"
Stephenson's eyes widened and he said: "I am Stephenson, I am not Bonner!"
Gan Guoyang said in surprise: "Are you Stephenson? Sorry, I didn't pay attention to the name. The tactics we deployed before the game were aimed at Bonner."
