The Golden Age of Basketball.

Chapter 6 Ping Pong Kid
On July 14th, Gan Guoyang got up early and helped with chores at Gan's Restaurant, washing pots, washing vegetables, preparing food, and cleaning up trash.

Business at the store is still bad, but we must try our best to keep it going until it is sold or a new way out is found.

In the morning, some white-collar workers would pass by and quickly grab a breakfast. Around noon, they would receive a phone call ordering several stir-fried dishes. At this point, Gan Guoyang or Gan Guohui would step in to pack the food and deliver it to the address given by the customer.

Recently, Gan Guoyang has been very enthusiastic about delivering food. When he goes out, he carries a food box in one hand and a basketball in the other, dribbling and running on the street to his destination.

A 2-meter-tall Chinese food deliveryman dribbling a basketball through the streets of San Francisco attracted a lot of attention.

San Francisco is a mountain city with rugged and winding roads that are not easy to navigate, so keeping the ball and lunchbox in hand is quite a challenge.

Fortunately, Gan Guoyang's hands were big enough that he was able to control the ball with one hand several times when it was about to slip from his grasp or when he was about to fall over an obstacle. He then used his body's balance to protect the lunchbox, thus preventing the tragedy of the ball flying and hitting the lunchbox from happening.

"You don't get many dribbling SP points at the beginning, but you need to be good at dribbling to survive on the streets. You need to develop well-rounded skills."

Although it was dangerous, Gan Guoyang enjoyed it. Through this training, he was developing his ball control and making up for the lessons he had missed. He was already far behind his peers.

He delivered three meals smoothly today without any trouble along the way. When he returned to the restaurant, he passed the buck to Gan Guohui, who was sitting at the counter answering orders, and said, "Guohui, shall we go? At this hour, no one will be taking any more orders."

Gan Guohui looked hesitant and asked, "Really...really going to play in the competition?"

"Of course, what's there to be afraid of? I'm here."

The three of them agreed to go to Hunts Point today to play a match. If they won, they would get paid; if they lost, they would lose money.

Gan Guohui was a little apprehensive. Although he loved basketball, he knew his own limitations and had no confidence in playing against the Americans.

"Brother Guoyang, how about I lend you the money? I can sell some more game cartridges and make up 150 yuan."

Gan Guoyang noticed his younger brother's lack of confidence, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "The best way to deal with fear is to face it head-on. It's just basketball, not war. Losing isn't shameful. Come on, if you don't go, Chen Xing will laugh at you."

Thinking of Chen Xing's mocking face when he saw him as a coward, Gan Guohui changed his clothes and shoes without saying a word and went out with Gan Guoyang.

"Hey! Where are you two going? Going to play ball again? Can playing ball put food on the table?"

When Gan Youtang saw that the two had slipped away again, he chased after them out of the restaurant, but they had already run far away and he could only see their backs.
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The two brothers took a bus from the Tenderloin district to Hunters Point in the bay, a well-known sports center in San Francisco where many skilled players compete.

Chen Xing was already waiting for the two at the entrance of the sports center. When he saw Gan Guohui coming with Gan Guoyang, he laughed and said, "Fatty Hui, you actually dared to come."

Gan Guohui said, "What's there to be afraid of? It's just a competition; losing won't kill you."

The reason they chose to start their team competition here is not only because it is close to Chinatown, has complete facilities, and is safe, but also because it is the most Asian-friendly sports center in San Francisco.

Besides the basketball court, there are also a lot of ping-pong tables here. Many ping-pong summer camps are held here in the summer, and most of the participants are Asian children and a small number of white children.

Table tennis is very popular in San Francisco, and many amateur table tennis tournaments are held here.

So when Gan Guoyang and his two companions entered the center, the staff assumed they were there to play ping-pong and asked them if they wanted to rent rackets.

When the administrator learned that the three of them had come to play basketball, he looked surprised and let them in after collecting a small fee.

There were people on several courts in the stadium. Chen Xing led the two towards the court in the northeast corner and found a white player named Jason.

They met at a basketball summer camp. Yesterday, Chen Xing contacted Jason, saying he wanted to form a team for a paid game, and they arranged to meet here this afternoon.

Upon seeing Chen Xing arrive with his men, Jason and his teammates stopped and looked towards Gan Guoyang and his group.

Their team is called "The Rippers," and they have two white players and one black player. The black player is wearing a green vest, while the white player's shorts are quite noticeable.

They are all of average height, over 180cm, with the tallest in the green vest approaching 190cm, and with his afro, he looks like he's 195cm.

However, they were all shorter than Gan Guoyang, which made everyone's eyes linger on Gan Guoyang from time to time.

In basketball, especially at the amateur level, height is often the greatest talent, something that hard work cannot compensate for. Jason was wondering why Chen Xing, this unremarkable bespectacled Chinese guy, would think of playing a paid match with the Rippers.

It turns out they brought in a powerful ally.

However, the three of them still didn't take Gan Guoyang and his group seriously.

In the United States, basketball is dominated by Black people, although some white players can also find their place.

Asians, with yellow skin, are nowhere to be seen on the professional basketball court. A very small number of Asians have the opportunity to appear on the NCAA court, but none of them have made a name for themselves.

To put it bluntly, Asians, especially Chinese Americans, don't even get a tiny slice of the huge pie that is American sports.

They're only good at playing table tennis.

"Guys, did you come to the wrong place? The ping-pong court is next door."

The tall black man in the green vest joked, and the other two laughed, not taking Gan Guoyang and his two companions seriously.

Gan Guohui was filled with anxiety, while Gan Guoyang remained expressionless. He warmed up briefly on the sidelines, took off his jacket, and stepped onto the court.

Basketball games are both familiar and unfamiliar to him. He has watched and studied many high-level games, but he has never actually played a game.

He's like a virgin with a head full of theoretical knowledge; now it's time for him to put it into practice.

Without a referee, the match began, with Gan Guoyang's team serving first.

Chen Xing was the shortest, but had good ball-handling skills, so he naturally took on the responsibility of point guard.

At the start, he dribbled carefully, observing the situation. Jason, who was guarding him, wasn't paying much attention; he just kept a couple of steps away, watching him intently.

The three of them did some basic teamwork training at Cameron House.

Gan Guoyang stood near the three-second zone and quietly raised his hand to point to the sky. Chen Xing understood immediately.

He made a high lob pass to the inside, and Gan Guoyang suddenly turned and walked towards the basket.

Like Jason, the man in the green vest didn't defend properly at all and was quickly outmaneuvered by Gan Guoyang.

Gan Guoyang leaped high, caught the ball in mid-air, and gently placed it into the basket.

Turning, jumping, catching the ball, placing the basket, landing—the whole process was seamless and perfectly executed.

Gan Guoyang looked at the green vest with a surprised expression, shook his head slightly, pointed to his eyes with two fingers, and said, "Focus, ping-pong kid."

The man in the green vest felt deeply humiliated, and his already dark face looked even darker.

Because it was a paid game, possession was exchanged after a goal was scored. The player in the green vest immediately demanded the ball and tried to take on Gan Guoyang one-on-one to get revenge.

He caught the ball, faced the basket, and tried to use the impact to create space, but was bounced away after physical contact.

That felt like hitting a steel plate. Gan Guoyang's seemingly slender body was as hard and strong as iron.

He still forced a shot under the basket, but Gan Guoyang blocked it with a big block!

The ball flew directly out of bounds; an amazing block.

"Phew, you're right, I really am quite suited to playing table tennis."

(End of this chapter)