In the previous matches, Barkley was the top scorer for Team USA, and Beelman habitually treated him like Ah Gan in the game.
When in doubt, they gave the ball down low to Barkley to back in, simple and efficient, and opponents found it hard to resist.
So far, in all the matches of the Dream Team, Bobby Berman hasn’t called a single timeout.
There’s simply no need, the players can solve the problems on their own, calling a timeout would be disrespectful to them.
In the afternoon, Beelman was sitting with the members of the Dream Team on the sidelines, waiting for the match between the China Team and the CIS Team to start.
During warm-up, Gan Guoyang ran over to chat and joke with Beelman, Jordan, and others on the American side.
Beelman said: "Give it your all, Sonny, we have to meet you in the finals, everyone is waiting for you."
Gan Guoyang: "I will, of course, give it my all, but aren’t you all afraid of losing to me in the finals?"
The others laughed, and Beelman said seriously: "Yes, we are, so we’ll give it our all too when the time comes."
Beelman spoke sincerely, he had indeed considered the possibility of losing to Ah Gan if they met in the finals, after all, he knew Gan Guoyang better than anyone else.
They had already cooperated for more than ten years, and Beelman had reached his current position, becoming the head coach of Team USA, winning the gold medal to achieve the basketball Grand Slam, and leaving a substantial mark in basketball history, thanks primarily to Ah Gan’s role.
Before meeting Ah Gan, he was a coach expelled from school, almost drowning in alcohol and gambling, ready to spend his life languishing in grassroots basketball camps, with the best-case scenario being a talented kid he coached for a week making it to the NCAA and becoming a locally famous basketball star, and that was it.
After meeting Ah Gan, everything changed, and he seized the opportunity, continuously learning and unleashing his talent.
Now, only one step remains to win the Olympic gold medal and achieve true perfection.
He tightly grasped Gan Guoyang’s hand and said, "Sonny, coach will rely on you once again this time."
Gan Guoyang shook off Beelman’s hand and said, "Bobby, why aren’t you thinking of defecting now?"
"I’m an American, serving my own team."
"Traitor, damn guy, give some truly useful advice."
"Alexander Volkov, this guy is the core, you should know that. Take care of him, and your chances of winning will greatly increase. For you, it’s not hard. Didn’t you hold back in the previous group game you lost?"
"I didn’t hold back, it’s just that the coach didn’t want me to play too long. He’s much more lenient than you."
"Xie Te! In the last match, you played a full 40 minutes! To win, you should play more, Sonny!"
The Alexander Volkov Beelman mentioned is the core of CIS’s interior, the second center, with the same height as Gan Guoyang, 6 feet 10 inches.
A comprehensive inside player, he started playing for the Eagles Team in 1989 and remained a member until the last season.
The 1988 Soviet Team that won the Olympic gold had four starters now in Lithuania, and the remaining one is Volkov.
With the Eagles, he performed acceptably as a role player, but with the CIS, he is the cornerstone of the interior; his scoring, rebounding, and assists are among the best in the team.
In the quarter-finals, CIS faced Germany Team; Volkov scored 15 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, and provided 4 assists, helping CIS defeat Germany and making Schlammfeste’s 32 points and 10 rebounds futile.
Of course, CIS knows the most formidable part of the China Team is their inside player Ah Gan; solving Ah Gan means solving the China Team, but who can solve Ah Gan?
Considering the lesson from the game against Croatia, the CIS Team believes they still need to use defense to combat the relatively single offensive point of the China Team.
In the group matches, CIS had the second-fewest points conceded among all teams, just over 20 points more than Team USA.
This sufficiently demonstrates CIS’s expertise in defense, especially their zone defense, which is disciplined, flexible, and has excellent synergy.
After all, the team inherited the Soviet Union’s training system and player development system; a lean and dying camel is still bigger than a horse, their overall strength is still very strong.
However, CIS also has its weaknesses; with the elimination of the talented batch from Lithuania, their talent seems ordinary, especially in terms of height.
Among the top eight teams in the knockout stage, CIS’s average height is even shorter than China Team’s.
The pillar of the inside is Volkov at 6 feet 10 inches, who shares Gan Guoyang’s height but seems a size smaller in stature.
When playing in the NBA, Volkov and Gan Guoyang only occasionally faced each other, since the Hawks and the Trail Blazers were in different divisions, facing off twice each season.
Gan Guoyang was an absolute starter, while Volkov was a bench player, and the Hawks coach wouldn’t be foolish enough to let Volkov defend Gan Guoyang alone.
But in the Olympics, there’s no choice; Volkov is already the best interior defender CIS can offer.
In the group match, Gan Guoyang scored 26 points over Volkov, playing for 30 minutes, losing by just 7 points in the end.
During the jump ball, Volkov felt somewhat intimidated looking into Gan Guoyang’s cold eyes.
Anyone who mixed in the NBA knew Ah Gan’s strength, all were thrashed to some extent.
In such a scenario, having NBA experience can turn into a negative effect, automatically generating fear among the players.
Moreover, CIS does not even have a proper national flag for this Olympics.
All the other national teams are fighting for their nation, for their country; after victory, they can drape their national flags, representing their country.