If China’s performance at the Barcelona Olympics is poor, I’m bound to face some backlash.
Fortunately, Gan Guoyang decided to join the national team. With Ah Gan here for the past month, Jiang Xingquan feels he can sleep more peacefully.
For China to go toe to toe with Lithuania in the first half was something Jiang Xingquan absolutely didn’t expect, considering the disparity in strength.
As the second half was about to begin, Jiang Xingquan pulled Gan Guoyang aside and said, "Lao Gan, take it easy in the second half, don’t exhaust yourself too much, there are more games ahead."
Jiang Xingquan is still worried that Gan Guoyang might go overboard in his passion to win, leaving no stone unturned, but end up winning nothing and completely draining his stamina.
Gan Guoyang replied, "Don’t worry, I’ll manage my stamina well. But you should also be prepared that if Lithuania shows any flaws, don’t hesitate. If we can win, we should seize it."
Jiang Xingquan nodded. He hadn’t imagined that a strategically abandoned game could still have a chance of winning. An 11 point deficit is not too huge nor too small.
Let’s see how the start of the second half plays out.
As the second half begins, it’s Lithuania’s possession.
The China Team started with a zone defense to challenge Lithuania’s outside shooting.
In the unfavorable one-on-one matchups, zone defense is a defensive choice.
However, Lithuania’s outside shots are very precise. China Team only used it at the start of the second half for a change in rhythm, hoping to trouble Lithuania for a couple of possessions.
If Lithuania quickly hits their outside shots, China Team will immediately switch back to man-to-man defense, not allowing Lithuania to keep firing from the outside.
In the end, Sabonis organized the pass to the 45-degree angle, Matulionis received the ball and took a three-point shot but missed.
Under the hoop, Sabonis tried to secure an offensive rebound, but the three-second zone was dominated by Gan Guoyang.
If Gan Guoyang weren’t there, the China Team’s inside would get torn apart on rebounds by this towering Sabonis.
But with Gan Guoyang, Sabonis can only rely on luck to catch an offensive rebound; fighting for it is out of the question, even with other teammates.
Gan Guoyang firmly controlled the defensive rebound, and after securing the rebound this time, he didn’t pass to teammates to start a fast break.
Instead, he dribbled himself, skillfully and shockingly, breaking through from the middle, deep into the three-point line, causing chaos in Lithuania’s defense.
Attempts to steal from the outside were cleverly spun past by Gan Guoyang, and then he stormed into the basket, scoring a single-handed dunk!
Inside the arena, Spanish fans finally got to see Ah Gan’s outstanding offensive display, reminiscent of his super outside play in the finals in June.
They shouted loudly, clapped, cheering for Gan Guoyang’s performance. Barcelona has a lot of Ah Gan fans, with many teenagers wearing Trail Blazers No. 11 jerseys.
Knowing trouble was brewing, Sabonis shouted to his teammates to strengthen their defense, urgently forming a blockade to stop Ah Gan from gaining momentum.
But regardless of how tough Lithuania’s outside defense is, it stands little chance against the Chicago Bulls, against Jordan, Pippen, and Grant’s encircling.
Sabonis quickly called for inside positioning. He aimed to single out Ah Gan, hoping to exhaust Gan Guoyang’s stamina and focus, preventing him from being too comfortable both offensively and defensively.
The turnaround hook shot, still missed! The opportunity was there, but was affected at the last moment.
Gan Guoyang turned around and grabbed the rebound, with Lithuanian players closing in. This time, Gan Guoyang made a long pass to Zhang Yongjun.
Zhang Yongjun jumped to catch the ball, dribbled to the frontcourt, and beyond the three-point line, faked a jump shot to draw defense, then passed to Sun Jun cutting in the middle.
This time, Sun Jun didn’t hesitate, caught the ball, broke through to the basket, and made a double-handed dunk!
China Team chased within 4 points, narrowing the deficit to 7 points, instantly tightening the situation.
"Arvydas, you’re a bit too tense, relax a bit," Gan Guoyang didn’t forget to remind his good friend.
Sabonis thought, with you here, how can I possibly relax!
China Team continued the zone defense, persisting in challenging Lithuania’s outside shooting.
Lithuania’s three-point shots were quite good in the first half, and now China Team is gambling.
After all, this game has been strategically abandoned, if Lithuania can perform normally, consistently hitting threes, China Team is set to lose.
If Lithuania’s shooting gets worse in the second half, misses pile up, China Team might indeed have a chance.
Another three-point attempt, still missed, Gan Guoyang grabbed another rebound.
Lithuania hesitated on defense, Gan Guoyang immediately pushed forward with his dribble on the counter-attack.
With a behind-the-back dribble to evade the opponent’s reach for a steal, he’s straight towards the basket.
Once again, unstoppable like a bulldozer, Sabonis tried to follow up with a block but got pushed aside by Gan Guoyang.
Left-handed layup scored, with a potential extra free throw.
This season, Sabonis chose to lose weight, his knee burden lessened, but this confrontational ability weakened.
"Don’t go for the swipes, don’t go for the swipes!" Sabonis reminded his teammates yet again.
And his teammate responded, "Arvydas, you’re too nervous, you look very anxious."
"I’m not anxious, don’t reach in, don’t assume because he’s a center you can swipe, this is a trap, a trap!"
When Gan Guoyang brings the ball forward, defenders often think that a big man with the ball is an opportunity for a reach-in steal.
Little do they know when they reach in to gamble on a steal, Gan Guoyang can just blow past them and launch an attack.
So Sabonis was right, it truly is a trap, but sadly, the rest of Lithuania didn’t see it.
Rarely do they see Sabonis so anxious during a game, and it was just the start of the second half.