[{"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-1036":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},1444803,1896,"Chapter 1036 - 8: How Brave I Am_3","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1036",1036,"\u003Cp>At this moment, a thought suddenly popped into Jiang Xingquan’s mind:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We said we would strategically forfeit this game, but could we actually win it?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Judging by the start, if the initial 7:0 was partly due to luck and energy, then leading 12:7 now, a 5-point advantage, shows we really have something.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, as the game progressed, other players on the China Team quickly exposed their flaws in confrontation and defense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang could rely on his exceptional one-on-one and help defense ability to cover for Zhang Yongjun once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But over a full 40 minutes with so many rounds, it’s impossible for him to successfully guard two players every time, or protect the rim every play.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Facing Lithuania’s precise outside shooting, China couldn’t use zone defense as it would likely lead to a downpour of threes from the opponent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The biggest issue with one-on-one defense is that the perimeter will be bypassed, and once the outer defense is breached, Gan Guoyang is quickly exposed to Lithuania’s frontline firepower.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some plays he had to give up, either watching the opponent score a layup, or allowing Sabonis to catch and dunk in the Three Second Zone or grab an Offensive Rebound for a putback.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Song Ligang, as the second center, standing at 2.06 meters tall, had good running and jumping abilities, able to charge and grab with some strong attacking capability.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But when Gan Guoyang switched to guard the perimeter, Song Ligang couldn’t stop Sabonis at all; their stature and strength differences were too vast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only Gan Guoyang could withstand the Lithuanian giant, but China only had one Gan Guoyang; defending like this, they definitely couldn’t hold on later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Lithuania counterattacked with an 11:4 offensive wave, turning a 5-point lead into a 2-point deficit, Jiang Xingquan called a timeout.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He made a major player substitution, four in and four out; aside from Gan Guoyang, everyone was subbed out to rest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hu Weidong, Shan Tao, Gong Xiaobin, and Wu Qinglong took the court, with Gan Guoyang moving to the power forward position.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, at that time FIBA didn’t have the term power forward; it was called second center.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was also no designation of small forward or shooting guard; other than guards and centers, it was just forwards, or wingers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From Beijing, the tall Shan Tao made up for Song Ligang’s lack of height and weight in the interior.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang moved to an outer position, assisting the backline with plugging leaks, compensating in details for the weak links in China’s wing and perimeter defense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang was not just defending diligently, but also criticizing; Chinese players indeed lacked the defensive details compared to those from Europe and America.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A month of training camp was entirely insufficient to change some bad habits formed during their youth training.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For example, when their footwork couldn’t keep up, they tended to reach out; they’d use their hands before their feet, always thinking of using their upper body to block opponents, without understanding preemptive positioning, anticipation, and using footwork for defense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then there’s rim protection, where they didn’t know how to reasonably use body contact to draw fouls, were not proficient in double-teaming or rotation, and when done frequently, it was chaotic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lithuania’s set plays were highly disciplined, their coordination was smooth and seamless, and as the game progressed, China played more chaotically and found it increasingly difficult.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially on defense; Lithuania’s three-pointers were extremely sharp, and they knew they couldn’t break into the Three Second Zone,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, with Gan Guoyang there, China actually managed to keep up with the score; some plays relied entirely on his personal ability.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Hu Weidong and the others took the court, China’s outside offense became more dynamic, as they seized consecutive fast breaks, hitting Lithuania with an 8:2 run.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before the first half ended, Jiang Xingquan finally subbed out Gan Guoyang, who had played 17 consecutive minutes, scoring 14 points, grabbing 10 rebounds, with 6 assists and 4 blocks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This data could be considered quite terrifying; this was FIBA competition, with a total of 40 minutes for both halves, and scoring 20 points in a game at Olympic level intensity was already quite high.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And this was just the first half for Gan Guoyang; with him playing, China was tightly holding onto the score despite being behind, 36:42, trailing Lithuania by 6 points.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But as soon as Gan Guoyang left the court, China immediately showed signs of collapse, getting countered by Lithuania with a 6:0 run, losing points and failing to score across three consecutive possessions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, the time was almost over, and China barely held on, ending the half 38:49, trailing Lithuania by 11 points at halftime.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During these two-plus minutes, Jiang Xingquan broke into a cold sweat, making him realize just how disastrous it would be against Lithuania without Ah Gan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At halftime, in the Lithuanian team’s locker room, Sabonis repeatedly reminded his teammates: \"Ah Gan hasn’t even exerted much effort, we need to be careful, careful of his second half.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m certain, the China Team might give up this game, but we must not let Ah Gan realize, ’I can win like this,’ or we’ll lose the match.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sabonis had played three seasons with Gan Guoyang, winning three championships, and knew very well just how terrible this man could be.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just from watching the first half, he knew Gan Guoyang was definitely holding back, especially on offense, where he was creating opportunities for teammates on many plays.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He obviously could have done it himself, and doing it himself would be much more efficient than his teammates, but he didn’t, indicating he wasn’t eager to win.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to past conventions in major competitions, the China Team often executed strategic forfeits, focusing their efforts on matches they were certain of winning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Judging by the first half, even though Ah Gan was holding back, if Lithuania showed any cracks, making Ah Gan feel he could clamp down, he certainly wouldn’t hold back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This guy’s scoring explosiveness is quite terrifying, with stamina just as remarkable; single-handedly scoring 30, 40 points in half a game isn’t something Ah Gan couldn’t do.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially after experiencing the 1992 finals, Ah Gan, who could initiate attacks on his own, absolutely possesses this capability.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rest of the Lithuanian squad lacked sufficient awareness of this; in terms of individual ability, they were far inferior to Ah Gan, and precisely because the gap was too vast, they couldn’t even perceive how big the gap was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sabonis’ teammates all expressed that Sabonis was being a bit too cautious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They always believed that basketball is a team sport, and while Ah Gan is indeed very strong, the rest of the Chinese team was not really up to par.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A one-man team is hard to beat when facing team basketball, especially when the whole Lithuanian team had such a strong belief this time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Sabonis was very insistent, telling the coach: \"If Ah Gan doesn’t leave the court in the second half, don’t let me rest; I need to keep an eye on him.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Coach Vladas Garastas said: \"I trust your judgment Arvydas, but you need confidence to counter him; I feel you are somewhat afraid and timid.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the first half, Sabonis performed average, scoring only 6 points with 5 rebounds, including just one Offensive Rebound; he was undoubtedly suppressed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sabonis, however, shook his head and said: \"Coach, you have no idea how brave I actually am.\"\u003C\u002Fp>",1240,"2026-06-06T01:41:48.991Z",1,"novelbin.me","5c20c1f9ef89bdacb44075baaab03564cf334145567bec60c6237d3ecbcbfbe1","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1037","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1035",2033,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-golden-age-of-basketball-cover.jpg"]