Faced with the double team, he didn’t even jump, just threw the ball directly, it bounced off the backboard into the hoop, also causing a defensive foul by Mu Lin—Mu Lin had grabbed his hand.
Makes the extra free throw, Gan Guoyang immediately gets into defense.
First, he delays Stockton’s advance in the middle.
Then he returns to the Three Second Zone to guard David Robinson.
Finally, he blocks Charles Barkley’s baseline reverse layup after receiving the ball.
After controlling the ball, he passes it to Hu Weidong on the fast break counterattack, Hu Weidong charges towards the basket like light cavalry and dunks successfully!
This lineup of the Dream Team lacks the ability to retreat defensively, Gan Guoyang capitalizes on this and launches a counterattack.
In an instant, they’ve caught up 5 points. Under Gan Guoyang’s leadership, China Team plays extremely tenaciously, and Gan Guoyang remains calm and composed.
Whenever the Dream Team thinks they have opened up a sufficient lead, he always immediately returns the favor with a counterattack, recovering several points in a row.
He perfectly controls the rhythm of the game, no matter what kind of lineup adjustments Beelman makes, he can immediately respond.
So much so that Jiang Xingquan’s timeout in the second half mainly serves to let Gan Guoyang rest for a while and catch his breath; he couldn’t offer any other guidance.
This is Gan Guoyang’s game; he knows how to play, understands the opponent’s situation, and also knows his teammates’ condition.
As the game time dwindles, with five minutes left until the end, the score is 82:66, China Team trailing by 16 points.
Jiang Xingquan calls another timeout, makes personnel adjustments, and also lets Gan Guoyang drink some water and catch his breath.
Gan Guoyang looks very fatigued, having played for 35 minutes without resting for even a minute.
Mental and physical effort both pushed to the limit; he’s done everything he could, yet China Team is still trailing.
However, his eyes lack disappointment, instead filled with the flame of battle. As he prepares to re-enter the game after drinking water, he continues to encourage his teammates: "Alright, the final five minutes, it’s time to sprint, it’s the last fight!"
Still able to sprint, still able to make the final fight!
He’s already scored 40 points, grabbed 19 rebounds, and made 5 blocks.
In an unparalleled state of perfection, he has brought China Team to the limit.
Yet, can he still erupt? Can he still sprint? Is this so incredible?
At this moment, every member of the China Team bursts with full fighting spirit.
Having reached this point, even if they were asked to carry a pack of dynamite to demolish a bunker, they wouldn’t hesitate.
Their stamina has long reached the limit, Jiang Xingquan has used every available player, anyway, it all feels the same.
There are only two requirements for those entering the game: first, not to make careless mistakes, and second, safely pass the ball to Ah Gan.
Throughout the game against the Dream Team, the Chinese players really understood what the gap felt like.
But at the same time, they also realized how to play under a huge gap and what the right way to play is.
Use your brain, have discipline, understand strategy, know how to judge, and moreover, have courage and resilience; these are ways to narrow the gap.
Most importantly, carry hope for victory; at this moment, they even believe that one day they can truly defeat the Dream Team.
China Team inbounds the ball from the backcourt, Gan Guoyang receives the pass from Shan Tao, and dribbles towards the frontcourt.
The Dream Team’s five players are posed for defense, Jordan, Malone, Pippen, Ewing, and Stockton—this is Beelman’s final lineup.
A group strong in both offense and defense, probably the Dream Team’s truly toughest and most balanced lineup.
They resemble an impossibly towering, strong, intimidating giant standing in front of the hoop, with no one capable of passing.
And Gan Guoyang is like Don Quixote, riding a thin horse, wielding a long spear, charging forward with hope and desire for victory.
["At no time should one abandon dreams and hopes for victory; if you give up, your life ends early."—Gan Guoyang]
————Excerpt from "The Story of Ah Gan" published in 2025, written by Wu Zhixiong.
(Olympic Special Volume "Dream of Barcelona" completed.)