The Golden Age of Basketball

Gan Guoyang continued to maintain the perfect conversational atmosphere, agreeing with Reiner's words while also probing for more information, such as the status of Magic's injury.

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

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

As for Stockton, he can train and engage in competition, but high-intensity confrontation may not be suitable for him.

If that's really the case, the Dream Team's Point Guard issue will be magnified, because they only have these two legitimate Point Guards.

Therefore, during most of the second half against Croatia, it was Pippen who was organizing the plays.

This might be another hidden issue for the Dream Team that could be exploited.

Magic Johnson is indeed a tough opponent; if he's at his best, China Team would have no idea how to defend against him.

Although Stockton may lack the strength, he knows Gan Guoyang very well, extremely well.

If he's allowed to connect the Dream Team, Gan Guoyang would be equally troubled.

On the contrary, Pippen, Barkley, Robinson, Malone, Ewing—those were either defeated by or restrained by him.

When it comes to actual play, it would be easier to deal with them.

To lose just a little against the Dream Team, Gan Guoyang was exhausting all his strategies.

Honestly, winning the NBA championship wasn't this tough; he's really giving it his all.

By July 29th, China Team faced their third group stage match, against the Commonwealth of Independent States.

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

They didn't even have a proper national flag; the previously vibrant red flag could only be replaced by the Olympic flag with five rings.

The CIS retained a part of the Soviet Union's basketball strength and remained very strong.

They had won both of their previous matches, and facing the China Team with Gan Guoyang, they were very well-prepared.

However, China Team's confidence also built up, and they couldn't be easily knocked down.

Even if Gan Guoyang took an early rest, China Team could still perform well without collapsing entirely.

Sun Jun performed exceptionally well, completing both offensive and organizational tasks effectively, scoring 23 points and making 4 assists in total.

Gan Guoyang did not show a particularly strong desire to attack, playing only 30 minutes in total, scoring 26 points with 11 rebounds.

China Team was defeated by the CIS with a narrow margin of 87:94, 7 points, resulting in a 2-1 record in the group stage.

After three matches, China Team won 2 and lost 1, but the net points were still negative.

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

Gan Guoyang no longer held back, and his teamwork with teammates became increasingly better.

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

An 89:80 win with a 9-point advantage crushed the Australians, with a group stage record of 3 wins and 1 loss, ensuring qualification for the top eight.

On August 2nd, facing the weakest team in the group, Venezuela, China Team fully flourished.

Gan Guoyang scored 31 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists, achieving a triple-double, helping the team to a 100:81 victory with a 19-point advantage!

Ultimately, China Team finished with a record of 4 wins and 1 loss, tying with Lithuania and the CIS for the highest winning percentage, but due to net points, they ranked third in their group, successfully entering the top eight knockout stage!

Group A also sorted out their rankings, and in the first round of the knockout stage, China Team will face Petrović's team, Croatia.