Chapter 1026 - 5: The Dream Begins_2

He didn’t care whether Ah Gan was a good friend of Jordan, Barkley, and others, he just needed someone to vent his frustrations to right now.

And Gan Guoyang was originally a master at stirring the pot, his heart was full of joy upon hearing Reiner’s fervent complaints.

He went along with Reiner’s conversation, complaining together with him—after all, he hadn’t spared these friends from criticism in the past.

At the same time, he tried to glean useful information from Reiner, particularly about the Dream Team’s training and tactical arrangements.

Gan Guoyang was certain that if Team USA played against China Team, they would definitely develop targeted strategies to defend against him.

By then, Reiner would be a crucial card, and being prepared in advance would be significant for Gan Guoyang.

Moreover, real-time information on the internal developments of the Dream Team would aid Gan Guoyang in making preparations, especially in training secret tactics with China Team.

Since arriving in America, China Team has maintained a "Mysterious Team" approach, with all trainings entirely closed off, not open to the public, and certainly not having any media days.

They only conducted training matches with two university teams, reportedly without Ah Gan playing, leaving people unaware of how China Team with Ah Gan would play.

This approach was because Gan Guoyang knew that with him, China Team would certainly be scrutinized from all sides.

Tournaments differ from leagues; leagues hold no secrets, while tournaments are full of surprise encounters, where teams might only face off once in a lifetime.

Therefore, intelligence becomes extremely important; once you lose a game, there will be no next match or chance for redemption at home.

Keeping China Team mysterious is beneficial for achieving good results in Barcelona.

Gan Guoyang didn’t hold out much hope of defeating Team USA, at least they shouldn’t lose badly.

As for other teams, including strong European teams, with Gan Guoyang, China Team certainly has the strength for a fight.

This current China Team’s drawback is its youth, while its advantage is also its youth, with vigor, good stamina, and strong adaptability to new things.

Perhaps this time, they might truly make a spectacular impact.

Gan Guoyang and Reiner talked for a long time, already confident he had this younger brother in hand.

Afterward, the two kept in touch, Gan Guoyang would help Reiner establish himself in the Dream Team while extracting information for preparation.

Besides the training developments of Dream Team, Gan Guoyang learned another important piece of news: Stockton’s injury was more serious than expected.

In the match against Canada, he collided with Jordan and left the game injured.

Initially thought to be just slight cramping or muscle injury.

But after leaving the field for an X-ray examination, the film showed Stockton had a fracture in his right fibula.

The doctor stated the fracture wasn’t serious and didn’t require a plaster cast as it was a non-weight-bearing bone.

Nevertheless, it would take six to eight weeks to recover.

There were less than seven weeks until the Olympics, casting a shadow over Stockton’s Olympic journey.

After obtaining this news from Reiner, Gan Guoyang immediately contacted Portland’s best orthopedic doctor the next day, then went to visit John at the Dream Team’s hotel.

Stockton seemed very calm, smiling when he saw Gan Guoyang, lying on the bed motionless, his right leg stretched straight.

"Sonny, I remember almost wanting to jump from upstairs in Bloomington in ’84... You say, am I destined to miss the Olympics?"

Apparently calm Stockton was actually very dejected inside.

Just like when being eliminated back in ’84, despite appearing most gentle, he reacted the most vehemently, straight out suggesting a match between the eliminated and Olympic teams.

"You won’t jump, John; you’ll be selected and go to Barcelona with everyone, trust me. Do you remember I told you back then you would surely make the USA national team, remember? What happened afterward?"

With Gan Guoyang’s consolation, Stockton felt much better.

Bobby Berman also came to console Stockton, saying he would definitely take him to Barcelona—even if as part of the cheerleading team.

In 1984, Stockton was eliminated because Alford was a disciple of Natt.

Now Stockton is a disciple of Berman, and Berman certainly wants to protect his student.

Of course, mere consolations weren’t enough; helping Stockton recover was necessary.

Gan Guoyang invited Portland’s best rehab therapist to help Stockton recover his bone growth.

Stockton’s family followed along to Portland, and his two sons accompanied him at all times.

One of them was named Michael, which Gan Guoyang thought John this kid was quite cheeky, naming his son the same as Jordan.

Stockton originally wanted to name his son Sonny, which Gan Guoyang refused.

In America, many people commemorate friends, fathers, elders through their sons’ names.

However, Chinese people don’t follow this practice, and Gan Guoyang did not want to become Stockton’s son.

Although a fibula fracture isn’t deemed serious, it’s certainly not a minor injury, after all, the bone really broke.

At this time, the high-tech gear of Americans comes into play again.

Gan Guoyang procured a bone stimulator from the Trail Blazers Team to aid in the fibula healing.

This electronic device is worn on the hip, with a metal ring strapped around the injured area.

Used seven hours a day, utilizing electromagnetism and current to enhance blood circulation at the injured site, thus promoting bone healing.

Devices like this were common in the 80s and 90s; Bernard King used a similar device when injured, and Drexler also used one.