The Golden Age of Basketball

"Won't affect your performance?"

"No, having a bit of alcohol makes me more excited, I'll play better."

Gan Guoyang indeed looked very excited, the showdown with the Dream Team was getting closer.

After five o'clock in the evening, the players of both teams took the court, for the men's basketball gold medal match between the Dream Team and China Team.

This will be the final decisive battle of the Olympics, it is not an exaggeration to say it is watched by all.

Hundreds of TV stations around the world are broadcasting this match live, numerous journalists, experts, and commentators are all focused on this game.

Before the match, Chinese reporter Tang Yizhou conducted a special interview with Gan Guoyang and the Chinese Men's Basketball Team players.

In the past, Tang Yizhou was an overseas-stationed diplomat learning in America, feeling bewildered and uncertain about his future prospects.

He accidentally learned about Gan Guoyang's presence in America, which caused him to start following Gan, wondering if he could rely on Sporting News to make a living.

He never expected Gan Guoyang to achieve such great success, nor did he expect to rise to fame with his in-depth special coverage on Gan Guoyang.

Now he is an experienced basketball reporter, a columnist, the special basketball reporter for CCTV, fully covering both men's and women's basketball events.

"Do you want the gold medal?"

"Of course I want it."

"Hey, you can't be so direct; be more subtle."

"How can you be subtle with this? Just delete 'of course'."

"Are you confident?"

"Not confident."

"..."

Tang Yizhou and Gan Guoyang have known each other for years, interviews between them are more like casual chats among friends, not a trace of formal speech.

"Think about it, if our China Team had five of me, go ask Team USA if they have confidence."

Tang Yizhou laughed and said, "If there were five of you, they wouldn't just let you play basketball; the leaders would surely arrange for you to participate in other events to grab more golds."

Given Gan Guoyang's physical gifts, with professional training, it is genuinely possible to win several gold medals in other events.

The two just kept chatting idly, seemingly an interview, but actually a casual conversation between old friends.

Tang Yizhou didn't ask tricky questions, but rather talked about everyday matters and shared feelings, intending to let the China Team relax.

Journalists should not always be like a dog digging for food, searching for juicy stories, fabricating and improvising, acting like a second-hand dealer and a fabrication tool.

A good journalist should become friends with players, observe, understand, and get close to them, only then can truthful, heartfelt, and profound reports be written.

Tang Yizhou is such a journalist. As the match neared, he wrote in his notebook, "The most important thing is, we have hope."

This is what Gan Guoyang told him.

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At six o'clock in the evening, the match officially started.

The stadium was filled with fans, including numerous athletes from various countries.

They were all there to witness this "clash of titans" showdown.

Tonight, Team USA was dressed in white uniforms, while China Team wore red jerseys.

Before the match began, in the Dream Team's locker room, Bobby Berman was repeatedly playing the highlights of Gan Guoyang's NBA matches on the video player.

The background screen featured Ewing, Robinson, Jordan, Barkley, Johnson, Pippen, Malone, and others. Among the Dream Team members, except for Reiner, who hadn't yet joined the NBA, everyone had once been a stepping stone.

It's a very cliché tactic, but it's really effective.

Until just before the match started, while players were warming up on the court, a dark cloud loomed over the faces of the Dream Team players.

This has been the shadow cast over everyone by this league's ruler since 1984, lasting for 8 years.

Team USA's starting lineup was Magic Johnson, Jordan, Ewing, Malone, and Pippen.

In the power forward position, Berman didn't use Barkley anymore because Barkley was being heavily suppressed by Gan Guoyang.

Instead of using the comparatively weak Robinson at the center position, Ewing was chosen for his steadfast and formidable character.

Clearly, the Dream Team was serious, they couldn't afford to make mistakes.

China Team's starting lineup was equally special.

Center Shan Tao, power forward Gan Guoyang, small forward Ma Jian, shooting guard Sun Jun, point guard Hu Weidong.

China Team set up a tall lineup, no longer utilizing small point guards, which was an unavoidable choice against Magic Johnson.

However, Gan Guoyang got information from Reiner that Johnson's leg injury hadn't healed, and his condition would definitely be affected.

Both team's centers stood at the center circle preparing for the tip-off.

Gan Guoyang chewed gum while looking at the starting five of the Dream Team.

What a terrifying lineup, each position is a core of an NBA strong team, with greats like Johnson and Jordan.

The rest of China Team were so nervous they couldn't stop taking deep breaths, whereas Gan Guoyang was just excited, he had been waiting for this moment.

The Dream Team members were equally tense; honestly, they preferred to face China Team in the group stage and not the finals.

The group stage isn't that crucial, everyone could happily pin Ah Gan down and take revenge.

The finals are different, they absolutely cannot lose, and more importantly, in the finals, Ah Gan would go all out, even exceed his limits.

That was truly horrifying.

Jordan stared intensely at Gan Guoyang, their glances met and then parted.

No words were spoken, no banter; everyone was silent, waiting for the start.

Pippen kept holding onto his pant leg, feeling a pulsing sensation at his temple, damn it.

This damned head, don't ask for trouble and ache now.

Malone had his hands on his waist; when Berman arranged for him to mainly defend Ah Gan tonight, he made a sign of the cross in his heart.