The game between the Dream Team and Cuba Team was without suspense, the point difference between the two sides kept growing, and it eventually turned into an exhibition for Team USA.
As Beelman said, his primary task was just to substitute players at regular intervals, similar to any All-Star coach, without needing to set up any tactics, just ensuring all the players got some court time.
The Cuba Team didn’t show much resistance from the start, as they wished for the game to end soon so they could take pictures with the stars of the Dream Team.
To face a team like this was already something these players could brag about for a lifetime, talking about this legendary experience with future generations in the decades to come.
The score difference was heading towards over 50 points, yet Team USA did not relax. Although they didn’t go all out, every player on the court played earnestly.
This was out of respect for the opponents and the audience at the scene; everyone gave their all, using their signature skills to attack the basket.
It wasn’t a mere exhibition game, but even more spectacular than one; neither side felt pressure, and the spectators weren’t tense, just enjoying the show.
They were witnessing what might be the strongest men’s basketball team in history, the undeniable Dream Team.
The final score settled at 136:57, with Team USA defeating Cuba by 79 points at the Memorial Coliseum.
The 79-point difference couldn’t fully reflect the gap between the two teams, as Team USA had held back.
If they had played all out, a point difference exceeding a hundred in a game wouldn’t be impossible.
Cuba was the weakest in Group A; Cuban basketball once had its glory days, winning an Olympic bronze in 1972 and placing sixth in 1980, one could say their ancestors were well-off.
If Cuba were to play China’s team without Gan Guoyang, China wouldn’t dare claim they could escape unscathed, as the two sides are evenly matched.
Gan Guoyang was aware of this, so as he watched from the sidelines, he started to perspire a bit.
If they were to really encounter Team USA in the Olympics, these guys might cause a hundred-point disaster, which would be utterly embarrassing.
After the game, journalists mainly focused their flashes on Larry Bird, who made a comeback after retirement, performing excellently tonight.
He shot 7 out of 8, missing only one shot, scoring 17 points, grabbing 6 rebounds, and making 3 steals; the very short FIBA three-point line allowed him to make every three-pointer.
Throughout the game, he played effortlessly and hardly broke a sweat, which made the reporters eager to know if he planned to return.
"Return? Unless the Celtics can gather half the Dream Team, I wouldn’t consider it," Bird replied with a smile.
Bird was well aware that he could play so effortlessly because his teammates were truly strong.
Only in this Dream Team could he play this freely, enjoying the game in the dozen or so minutes, for a bit over twenty minutes of playtime.
If he returned to the NBA, his teammates wouldn’t be this strong, and the grueling home and away schedule of the NBA couldn’t compare to the much easier tournament held in one venue.
On the night after the first game ended, Gan Guoyang invited the Dream Team to a seafood restaurant in Portland—a place often frequented by Jack Ramsey and Beelman.
Gan Guoyang originally planned to invite just a few friends, Stockton, Barkley, Ewing, Jordan, Bird, and Drexler.
But Stockton wanted to bring Malone along, Jordan brought Pippen, Bird said it would be best if magic could come, then Gan Guoyang thought he also got along well with Mu Lin, and David Robinson was also a good guy...
After thinking it over, he decided to invite everyone, host a party, have a meal, and chat, as a way to fulfill his duty as a host.
Apart from the players, the coaching lineup of Team USA was also luxurious.
Headed by Beelman, with assistant coaches Chuck Daly, Lenny Wilkens, and Duke University’s Coach K.
Among everyone, the one with the least stature was Laettner, still a college student, who seemed out of place at the party.
In the NCAA, Laettner was the top star, Duke’s tyrant, a temperamental, ill-natured, win-at-all-costs white center—very much like Lan Bi’er.
But if Lan Bi’er were in the Dream Team, he would certainly thrive; Jordan, Bird, Johnson, he wouldn’t fear these people, and others should be afraid of him.
Laettner wasn’t the same; he hadn’t made it to the NBA, with zero seniority, having no standing among this group of elites, and despite bearing the halo of the only college player in the Dream Team, he was essentially just a decoration.
While he wielded power and influence in the NCAA, he became a target for everyone’s teasing in the Dream Team, which anyone would find hard to swallow.
Initially, Laettner didn’t want to come, but he couldn’t resist when everyone was going; now with the whole team moving as one, persuaded by Coach K, Laytlin reluctantly showed up.
Bird and Jordan found Laettner and said, "Kristen, how about we make a deal?"
It was Bird speaking, the oldest and most seasoned one on the team, and also like Laettner, a white man.
"A deal? What kind of deal?"
"When we have dinner later, you find Ah Gan and tell him you want to destroy him in the Olympics. In the upcoming games, we will pass to you more, giving you chances to shine, how does that sound?"
Upon hearing this, Laettner thought, they’re trying to get me killed.
Though he hadn’t played in the NBA, he couldn’t possibly be unaware of Ah Gan’s reputation.
The NBA’s foremost Undertaker, top tyrant, fight king, wrestling master, challenging him?
Laettner’s little schemes in the NCAA wouldn’t stand a chance against Ah Gan.
He knew clearly that these two big shots were just messing with him, teasing him for fun.