Just after the Chinese Men’s Basketball Team made a historical win over Croatia and advanced to the Olympic semifinals, on August 5th, the Chinese Women’s Basketball Team defeated the Cuban Women’s Basketball Team in the semifinals, marking their historical advancement to the Olympic finals.
Unlike the men’s team, the Chinese Women’s team players have a well-balanced strength, with Zheng Hai Xia as the absolute core, but she cannot dominate the game like Gan Guoyang.
Four players from China Team scored in double figures, and all 10 players who played scored, with a final score of 109:70, securing an easy victory over Cuba and advancing to the finals.
The women’s team’s opponent in the finals was not the powerful America but the Unified Team from the other semifinal that had beaten Team USA.
The Soviet Union had disbanded, but the Unified Team retained enough basketball talent, and when combined, they still formed a strong force.
On August 6th, China Team would face the Unified Team in the men’s semifinals, serving as the last obstacle to reaching that final step for China Team.
The game between China Team and the Unified Team was scheduled for that afternoon. Following their match, it would be the other semifinal between the Dream Team America and Lithuania.
Before the game started, the entire Dream Team came to the sidelines to watch the semifinal between China and the Unified Team, and at that moment, they all supported China Team.
Charles Barkley openly told the Olympic reporters: "I’m applying for Chinese citizenship this afternoon to help China Team play, and then I’ll change it back tomorrow."
A reporter asked him, "What about your game in the evening?"
"The Dream Team will be fine without me, but today I really want to help Ah Gan."
Barkley’s words reflected the sentiments of all the Dream Team players; they very much wanted to face China Team in the finals.
The chance to beat Ah Gan was right in front of them, and if they missed it, who knows when they’d have another chance.
In fact, when the group stage results came out, the Dream Team was quite disappointed because America and China were not in the same bracket.
In the first round, China Team faced Croatia, and the Dream Team members all thought it would be tough for China Team to get past Croatia.
Team USA had played a game against Croatia in the group stage and recognized their strength. All their starting five had the ability to play in the NBA.
Unexpectedly, Ah Gan once again staged a remarkable comeback performance, contributing to a spectacular endurance-counterattack drama.
The final game-winning shot had some luck involved, but those familiar with Ah Gan knew this was his specialty.
After the game, American media couldn’t help but write in-depth articles praising Ah Gan as a "born winner," "an incredible court assassin," with "an unbelievable desire and grip on victory."
Reporters were also eagerly anticipating a major showdown between China Team and the Dream Team. At that time, the result wouldn’t even matter, as the matchup of Ah Gan against American stars would be a classic moment in basketball history.
Gan Guoyang knew that Team USA wanted to play against him, so before the game, he went to the Team USA bus and told the Dream Team members, "Our game is first, and yours is next. If we lose and you lose too, then we could both play in the bronze medal match, couldn’t we?"
For this bewildering suggestion, Charles Barkley actually found it quite sensible.
"If we can’t beat up Ah Gan at this Olympics, what’s the point of winning the gold medal?"
For Barkley’s nonsense and wild words, his teammates and people from the United States Olympic Committee were already used to it.
During this Olympics, Barkley had continuous conflicts with the United States Olympic Committee, or rather, there was always tension between the Committee and the Dream Team.
Because the Olympic Committee didn’t like how the Dream Team separated themselves from other athletes, not staying in the Olympic Village but in the luxury hotel, and having transportation arranged with a security entourage.
Olympic Committee official Leroy Walker said, "Maybe I’m too old-fashioned and conservative, but I don’t understand why some athletes stay in dorms while others stay in luxury hotels. We’re all part of the American delegation. Not sure why we absolutely need these NBA players, we have many excellent players in our colleges, and if we pick the right ones, we can still win the gold medal."
"Professional players should comply with the Olympic rules like other athletes and not receive special treatment."
Years later, Walker became the chairman of the United States Olympic Committee and continued to fight the Dream Team on this issue in the next Olympics.
David Stern offered a good reason why players stayed in hotels. He explained that during the season, players spent hundreds of nights on the road in hotels rather than with their families, and now they had the opportunity to stay with their families in hotels, which was a good compensation for them.
Charles Barkley wasn’t as kind in his words, furiously criticizing Walker: "Who the hell wants to stay in the Olympic Village at 100 degrees Fahrenheit? Some jerks don’t pay a dime but just want to torture others, did we spend your money staying in hotels or using escorts? It’s none of your damn business."
Throughout the Olympics, Barkley was constantly engaged in verbal warfare with the United States Olympic Committee.
"You should learn from the Chinese delegation. Look at Ah Gan, he also stays in hotels and flies back and forth in helicopters every day. Their delegation’s leaders haven’t said a word, they even let Ah Gan be the flag bearer for the delegation! The flag bearer! God, when can I carry the Star-Spangled Banner and take a lap around the stadium."
Barkley’s envy of Gan Guoyang was evident, and because of this, his desire to face Gan Guoyang in the finals grew even stronger.