Chapter 26 Confidence

The team arrived early at Kezar Stadium, an ancient sports building constructed in 1924, which exuded a rosy glow under the afternoon sun.

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It bears the glorious history of San Francisco's basketball, where Bill Russell, clad in the University of San Francisco jersey, made his first appearance in Kezar Stadium in 1953, and after defeating his opponents, Russell was hoisted up by the crowd and celebrated like a hero for his victory.

In that game, Bill Russell scored 23 points and delivered 13 blocks, facing down the nation's 10th-ranked University of California and their player McKeen, who was touted as the strongest player on the West Coast. Before then, the University of San Francisco hadn't made a blip in the national rankings and had never reached a national tournament.

That night, the 4000-seat Kezar Stadium was packed to the rafters, probably squeezing in over 5000 people.

And outside, more than 1000 people queued in the December cold Pacific breeze, with hundreds climbing the walls of the stadium and nearby trees, trying to peek through the large glass windows to catch the game inside.

Even more people were held up in traffic and didn't even get close to the stadium.

From 1954 to 1956, Russell led the University of San Francisco to 60 consecutive wins, twice claiming the NCAA championship, with a quarter of those victories achieved in Kezar Stadium.

Although this afternoon's Kezar Stadium wasn't as frenzied as it was 20-plus years ago, the scene was enough to weaken the legs of the Shui Zhong Team players, making them extremely nervous.

In Guohui's words, "It feels like the whole Chinatown has turned out," the 4000 seats were already crammed by half-past two, even the aisles were filled with people, all with yellow skin and black hair.

Students from both schools came to watch the game, wearing matching T-shirts to cheer for their respective schools.

The Lihua High School Tiger Team wore jerseys with a white base and gold-black tiger stripes; they looked well-trained and warmed up in an orderly fashion on the court.

The jerseys of North Bridge High School were red with black trim, the red symbolizing the fiery sun and time, while the black represented water, matching their team name, Shui Zhong.

Just before the game was to start, Beelman gathered his players together. For this team, which had just been assembled for a week, Beelman had little to say.

He knew the most important thing now was to relax, not be nervous, and to give the players confidence. So, forsaking his usual explosiveness, he instructed them calmly and kindly to just play well and show their style.

"Defense, remember, good defense is crucial. Only with strong defense do we stand a chance at everything."

Beelman kept emphasizing defense. He knew that as long as the others held the defense, and Guoyang held up the offense, there would be hope for victory.

But in his heart, he was cursing the school for being too hasty. Why were they playing a game against Li Hua High School after just a week of forming the team?

The school and the foundation were indeed in a bit of a hurry, mainly due to multiple considerations. One reason was that Li Hua High School, upon learning that Beiqiao High School was forming a basketball team, had sent a challenge well in advance.

The leaders of the Strait Self-Strengthening Foundation behind Li Hua had called Huang Shaohua more than once, asking him when the two teams would play a game. When Huang Shaohua tried to stall, the other party accused Beiqiao High School of being afraid, which was extremely annoying.

Another reason was that it was August, and the basketball and volleyball seasons for various high schools and colleges had not yet started, so the venue was easy to rent.

Come October and beyond, when the various sports leagues for high schools and colleges began, the venue wouldn't be available.

So they simply decided to have a warm-up match just after school started, to test the waters and measure themselves against each other.

Winning would naturally be great, but losing could be taken as a lesson, nothing too serious.

But they hadn't expected the game to draw such massive attention and fervor. The whole street of Chinatown turned out, and the arena was overflowing with people.

The newspapers even sent reporters to the scene, equipped with pens and cameras, ready to document this battle between Chinese communities.

The interest was driven both by the duel between the two Chinese-American teams and the curiosity aroused by Guoyang's reputation.

Everyone wanted to know if the tall youngster, whose name had swiftly risen in the streets, was as formidable in an official game as he was rumored to be.

People love creating heroes, but they also enjoy watching them fall. Among the audience, some hoped for Guoyang to perform brilliantly, while others were there hoping for a laugh.

All this was immense pressure; not an ideal situation for Shui Zhong, a new team in its first game, facing such a grand stage.

Under great pressure, people can crumble psychologically. If they were to suffer a crushing defeat in front of so many spectators in their first battle, that mental shadow could take a long time to overcome.

Beelman was quite worried about this, but what comforted him was that Guoyang seemed to be keeping his composure; as he walked onto the court, he even patted everyone on the butt.

"Cheer up, I'm here."

"Buckle down, pay attention."

"Don't zone out, stay focused."

His words eased the players' nerves; Chen Xing's hands were trembling as he took to the court.

Was Guoyang not nervous at all?

Clearly not, he was also very nervous; this was the first official game of his basketball career.

Playing in front of so many spectators, including his family, friends, neighbors, felt entirely different from a casual game.

However, while others were so nervous they were trembling and weak in the knees, Guoyang's nerves led to an unusual excitement.

As the game drew closer, the noise in the stadium grew louder, and his heart began to race, his veins throbbing.

The referee announced the game rules, the players shook hands, and the centers took positions for the jump ball at mid-court.

The center of Li Hua High School was a player just over 1.9 meters tall, half a head shorter than Guoyang—Guoyang had recently measured his height; he'd grown more than an inch since coming to America and now stood at 6 feet 9 inches (206 cm).

There was no contest for the ball; Guoyang tipped it to Chen Xing, and the game began.

The decibel level at the venue surged by at least thirty percent, and Chen Xing made a mistake with his first move.

The pass was intercepted by the opponent, who launched a fast break with a two-line counterattack. The ball was passed, shot, and the first points of the game were scored.

Gan Guoyang chased down the court but couldn't catch up with the opponent. Inbound from the baseline.

"Don't panic, just play as we usually do, I'll set screens and be ready to receive the ball for you."

Gan Guoyang passed the ball to Chen Xing, consoling him not to be nervous.

On the sidelines, Beelman paced back and forth with his arms crossed, acknowledging the rough start.

Chen Xing moved the ball over the half court, but his slender build wasn't strong enough for confrontations.

If even dribbling and organizing the offense was difficult, then how could they play this game?

Li Hua High School knew that Gan Guoyang was Beiqiao's core player, and they double-teamed him right from the start.

Chen Xing hesitated with his passes and nearly turned the ball over again, but eventually, he passed to Big Bear.

Big Bear, on the edge of the three-second zone, had the ball but didn't know what to do. Hesitating, he was stripped of the ball by the opponent.

The Li Hua High School Tiger Team launched another counterattack, and Beelman shouted from the sidelines, "Fall back, run, run! Sons of bitches!"

Seeing two turnovers right at the start, Beelman couldn't hold back anymore and started cursing from the sidelines.

This time the retreat was timely. Gan Guoyang quickly got under the basket.

The opponent's no. 5 point guard slowed down, but seeing Chen Xing's unstable defensive position, he accelerated and broke through the middle.

Beiqiao was unsteady on its feet. Gan Guoyang jumped to block the opponent's layup, but no. 5 made a fake move and passed the ball back to a teammate who easily scored two points.

The students from Li Hua High School erupted into cheers, shouting their school slogan, "Li Hua, Li Hua, stand tall in China!"

"It's okay, remember next time, if you have the chance, shoot without hesitation. I've got your back."

Gan Guoyang consoled Big Bear briefly. Everyone was tense at the start, and the continuous mistakes and conceded points had quickly lowered their morale.

The Li Hua High School team was well-trained. Their players weren't tall, but they all had buzz cuts—a uniform hairstyle—and their teamwork was very smooth.

"Gan, offense, hit the opponent back!"

Beelman commanded from the sidelines. The team needed to score to stabilize the troops' spirits.

But Gan Guoyang did not post up to receive the ball in the subsequent offense. Instead, he moved out to set screens and provide an option for Chen Xing.

In the end, Xu Xun took the ball, accelerated for a layup, but amidst multiple defenders, he failed to score.

His speed and skills weren't sufficient. You could tell it was a miss as soon as he shot.

Then, Gan Guoyang leaped and gently tapped the ball, tapped it again, and grabbed the offensive rebound in front of two Li Hua players.

After obtaining the ball, he faked an offensive move to attract the defense and passed the ball back to Chen Xing. Chen Xing took the ball, drove in, and attempted a floating shot.

The ball bounced twice on the rim, about to fall out, when Gan Guoyang somehow squeezed under the basket, jumped up, gently tapped it again, and sent the ball into the hoop.

Scoring on a put-back, Beiqiao High School also scored its first point. The momentarily quiet Beiqiao students erupted into cheers.

"With me here, everyone can shoot freely, but remember to fall back fast!"

Gan Guoyang went back to the defense, passing his confidence and encouragement to each teammate on the court.

Opponent's no. 5 point guard tried the same breakthrough and dish-off move, but Gan Guoyang was not fooled again.

He blocked the player's route to drive and pass. When the ball was passed to another player who tried to catch and shoot, Gan Guoyang turned and leaped, blocking the shot.

Just a fingertip touch on the ball, and it lost its forward momentum, dropping straight down into Gan Guoyang's control.

This time when he passed to Chen Xing, Chen Xing's hands weren't shaking anymore. He crossed the halfcourt smoothly and started to set up the offense.

The shots from other Beiqiao players began to be decisive because in the paint, Gan Guoyang was providing a continuous supply of ammunition.

About five minutes into the first half, the score had turned to 8:6, with Beiqiao High School leading by 2 points.

As Xu Xun broke through on a counterattack causing a foul by the opponent, dead ball, Li Hua High School called for a timeout.

Gan Guoyang and his teammates walked off the court, their tense mood now completely lifted.

"4 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 blocks. Good job, Ah Gan."

Beelman looked at Gan Guoyang calmly sitting on the bench, only he was aware of what exactly this guy had done in the first five minutes of the game.

It wasn't just about those stats.

"Well done, Gan," Beelman patted Gan Guoyang's shoulder.

Gan Guoyang glanced at Beelman and said indifferently, "The game hasn't even started yet, Bobby."