[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-golden-age-of-basketball":3,"chapter-the-golden-age-of-basketball-the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1034":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","The Golden Age of Basketball",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1444801,1896,"Chapter 1034 - 8: How Brave I Am","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1034",1034,"\u003Cp>Lithuania faced numerous difficulties during the team-building process and had to rely on personal funding to participate in this Olympic Games due to national bankruptcy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because of this, the Lithuanian team has a very strong desire to win. Apart from basketball, Lithuania has no other prominent sports, and the basketball team carries the sports dreams of this newly independent country.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially Sabonis, his status in Lithuania is akin to Gan Guoyang’s status in China.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In 1990, he represented the Soviet Union for the last time at the World Championships and was widely criticized by Lithuanians.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now he can finally represent Lithuania, and he is naturally very proactive, wanting to earn honor for his country.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lithuania started off trailing 0:5, and soon after, Gan Guoyang blocked Jomicki’s floater under the basket.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang controlled the ball, made a long pass to the front court, handing it to Sun Jun, who scored with a two-handed layup in a fast break for another 2 points.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The China Team hit Lithuania with a 7:0 opening, surprising everyone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Including the head coach of the China Team, Jiang Xingquan, who stood on the sidelines with his arms crossed and a blank face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whether winning or losing, leading or trailing, Coach Jiang always wore a serious expression, making it impossible to guess what’s on his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The speed is really fast, the gap really big, like college students playing with middle schoolers... No, calling them elementary schoolers wouldn’t be an exaggeration.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During previous team training, Jiang Xingquan was already aware of the significant gap between Chinese players and Gan Guoyang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In some internal matches, the gap seemed even larger, and in various aspects, they were not on the same level.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once in the official Olympic game, after just a few plays, Jiang Xingquan realized that during prior training and internal matches, Gan Guoyang had still held back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang’s speed, intensity, strength, and the handling of details on both offense and defense were unmatched by any player on the court, including the opposing Lithuanian center Sabonis.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the perspective of Chinese players and coaches, Sabonis of the former Soviet Union was already a figure akin to The Immortal of Colossal Spirit, but when facing Ah Gan on both ends of the court, Sabonis seemed weaker by a few degrees.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, Lithuania cannot be easily defeated in just a few rounds; their overall foundation is very profound.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the court, of the five starters, four were starters in the 1988 Olympic champion Soviet Union team, and these four were the top scorers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After four years, they had grown more mature and were at the peak of their basketball careers, so Lithuania’s strength is considerable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Despite an unfavorable start, Lithuania did not call for a timeout and players quickly adjusted their status on the court themselves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In half-court offense, they found an open spot on the wing through clever and skillful outside cooperation. The outside shooter Kurtinaitis made a successful three-point shot!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kurtinaitis was the former Soviet national team’s number one outside shooter, with a three-point shot that’s both quick and precise; as long as he catches a slight opportunity, he can swiftly shoot and score.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On defense, Lithuania also made adjustments; Sabonis instructed his teammates to switch from zone defense to man-to-man, implementing one-on-one defense in the half-court.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Simply put, they began to oppose the outside line of the China Team.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Confrontation is a weakness of Chinese players, and after a month of training, they showed certain improvements.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, when facing the robust Lithuanian players, they still encountered some difficulties.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In sports competitions, the intensity of confrontation is fundamental; without being able to withstand certain intensity, your skills and tactics are empty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lithuania made every effort to use man-to-man and pressing defense to cut off the connection between China’s outside line and Gan Guoyang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Fengwu was forced to pass the ball at mid-court, Sun Jun came to receive the ball, but it was stolen by the Lithuanian team.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They successfully counterattacked, scored with a layup, and quickly brought the score closer to 7:5, with China leading by only two points.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Faced with Lithuania’s high-intensity man-to-man defense, Gan Guoyang did not actively step forward to screen for his teammates or help them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He continued to wander around the three-second zone, moving slightly farther out this time, jumping to catch the pass from Sun Fengwu before the double-team could close in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the middle, Sun Jun cut in, Gan Guoyang smoothly passed to Sun Jun, but Sun Jun’s layup was blocked by Sabonis who came over to defend.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Either be fast or confrontational! Being slow or avoiding is useless!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang shouted at Sun Jun, who was slightly slow with that play.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Facing Sabonis’s defense, he tried to dodge towards the side, but the more he avoided, the easier it was to get blocked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lithuania swiftly counterattacked, and Sabonis made a long underhand pass to the front court, Lithuanian guard Sarunas Marciulionis caught the ball on the counterattack and scored with a layup.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>7:7, the score was tied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>China Team couldn’t withstand Lithuania’s fast attack, and not only were they lacking in confrontation during defense, but they were also lacking in discipline.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was a big problem the China Team was facing; their defensive execution and detail refinement needed a lot of improvement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This relates to the long-standing basketball education and development strategy in China.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chinese players’ height and weight have historically been inferior to those of Europe and America, so the China Team has long adhered to a small, fast, and agile offensive route.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even though China once had a tall center like Mu Tiezhu, the overall tone of Chinese basketball was lightweight, prioritizing speed and agility over playing heavy and intense games.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, in those days, you couldn’t compete with European teams with a heavy, high-intensity play style. China had to find a different path suitable for the characteristics of the players at the time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the absence of Gan Guoyang, the China Team played quite freely on the international stage, excelled in counterattacks with speed, and made quick and decisive plays; however, they had limited options in positional plays and lacked layers on defense, relying essentially on personal capability for hard confrontations, maintaining the defense with spirit and style.\u003C\u002Fp>",1044,"2026-06-06T01:41:48.991Z",1,"novelbin.me","e146b2d352a9ce9590ddc602f10e22f1c0c8d98e4f983999c5fa90a0cd4afd27","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1035","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1033",2033,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-golden-age-of-basketball-cover.jpg"]