The Golden Age of Basketball.

Chapter 84 Breaking the Stone
Bellman called a timeout, but he couldn't think of what to say during the timeout.

To be honest, Berman is not a shrewd, ingenious coach who is good at on-the-spot command. Firstly, it's not his style, and secondly, he never has many cards to play.

Whether at Waterbell or Bulldogs, Berman excels at building a solid system, and his rigorous coaching style in daily training can quickly improve the players' fighting power.

He was good at getting along with the players. Although he used a lot of profanity, he was able to earn their respect through his daily actions and make them obey him.

He has excellent pre-match preparation skills, and once he has formulated a strategy before the match, he executes it as decisively as possible during the match.

If adjustments are needed, he will usually leave it to the players to handle.

Gan Guoyang has always done a good job in making adjustments; he is the team's second brain and the true commander on the field.

They also have Stockton, the third brain; with both of them present, Bellman doesn't need to make any special adjustments.

In the vast majority of previous matches, Gonzaga almost never fell behind at the start.

They always manage to dominate their opponents, even against top teams like Georgetown. Thanks to Gan Guoyang's efficiency and intelligence, they can maintain their lead until the very last moment of the game.

Gonzaga's control of the game is underestimated. In the NCAA national tournament, there isn't enough data or energy to study a team's style. If you're not careful, you can easily find yourself on the defensive when facing Gonzaga.

But there are always exceptions, and the most special and rarest situations often occur in the most important competitions.

Gonzaga's start tonight was not ideal. Their defense was fine, but their offense was mediocre and still the same old thing.

The problem was that the Cougars were too accurate from beyond the arc at the start. Michael Young made all three of his forced shots, and Franklin also made a long-range shot. Their shooting percentage was over 70%.

Bellman knew that he couldn't be this accurate all the time, but what if he was?
This was the final, decisive match, so an exceptional performance was to be expected.

The Houston Cougars are clearly hungry for the championship. After an unexpected two-point loss to North Carolina State last year, they are making a comeback this time and started the game very aggressively.

After thinking for a while, Berman decided to implement a full-court press defense to disrupt the Pumas' first pass, and ideally force an error to launch a counterattack and turn the tide of the game.

The Bulldogs' full-court press and half-court double-teaming defense are their trump cards.

Unlike Georgetown's high-intensity style, the Bulldogs' pressing relies on a tenacious, persistent approach. While the white players may lack speed and explosiveness, their positioning is precise and their teamwork is excellent.

In the regular season games when the team was plagued by injuries, the Bulldogs relied solely on Gan Guoyang for offense and tight defense throughout the game, which led to their complete victory.

"Press them, force them to make mistakes, don't give them any easy opportunities to connect on the perimeter. Remember, kill them!"

Even as Bellman gave the order, he remained incredibly enthusiastic, swearing profusely.

But when the players took to the field, he was uncertain; any change in strategy meant uncertainty.

On the basketball court, coaches are always looking for a universally applicable system that can be adapted to any player and make any team stronger.

However, in practice, it is found that basketball, this chaotic competitive system, can never have a perfect answer, and even finding a near-perfect answer is very difficult.

In reality, the court is full of loopholes, randomness, and unknowns. In high-level competition, luck plays a greater role than many people imagine.

The Cougars were very lucky tonight. Facing the bulldogs' biting defense, they panicked briefly and almost made a mistake. Then, Franklin made a super long-range shot from the outside and it went in off the backboard!

This shot boosted the morale of the Houston team, while the Gonzaga players were very frustrated. They defended to the extreme, but the opponent just casually tossed the ball in, leaving them helpless.

Subsequently, Gan Guoyang was double-teamed by three players from the Cougars. He passed the ball to the outside, creating an opportunity, but Stockton's mid-range jump shot missed.

The Cougars launched another counterattack, with the Bulldogs pressing them closely throughout the game, but a gap appeared under the basket. Franklin made a super long pass to the basket, and Olajuwon made a fast break to receive the ball and lay up.

Gan Guoyang blocked Olajuwon's shot from behind, but the ball had already touched the backboard, constituting goaltending, and the score was two points.

With a score of 21:12, the Cougars' lead has reached 9 points, which is a significant advantage.

The situation was very unfavorable for the bulldog, and Behrman was extremely anxious on the sidelines, tormented by immense pressure.

Clearly, the full-court press did not have an immediate effect; instead, it exposed weaknesses, allowing Cougars to extend their lead.

Gan Guoyang fought hard to grab an offensive rebound under the basket, drawing a foul from Olajuwon. Standing at the free-throw line, Gan Guoyang made both shots, helping his team stop the bleeding.

However, on the defensive end, the Bulldogs' tight pressing defense was still ineffective. The Cougars' players played with confidence, passing quickly, moving nimbly, and their skillful teamwork once again broke through the Bulldogs' defense.

Michael Young received a pass from Hakeem Olajuwon and hit another mid-range jumper from the right corner. He had already made three shots from the same spot, his touch was red-hot.

Gan Guoyang clapped at Stockton, the Bulldog quickly served the ball, and Gan Guoyang jogged all the way to the frontcourt.

He received the ball at the high post, dribbled quickly and launched an attack. This time he did not choose a hook shot, but instead drove hard to the basket, drawing a foul from forward Rich Winslow.

Hakeem Olajuwon already had a foul and dared not reach out, while Winslow blocked Gan Guoyang's layup attempt.

In those days, a center's drive to the basket was a rare offensive option, especially under a zone defense system. Smaller players couldn't even get close, let alone centers.

Gan Guoyang caught the Cougars off guard and stepped up to the free-throw line again.

Coach Lewis, clutching his red polka-dot towel, watched Gan Guoyang make both free throws and cursed inwardly. He stood up, ready to put some pressure on the referee and stop Gan Guoyang from drawing fouls like this.

Coach Lewis knew perfectly well that Gan Guoyang's choice was absolutely correct in the face of adversity.

Using the most reliable free throws to help the team stabilize the situation, while also causing the Cougars to attack the paint, may lay the groundwork for potential problems in the second half. This is the right choice for a mature and intelligent player.

"Where the hell did this genius come from? Should I start recruiting Asian players next year?"

Coach Lewis was one of the leading figures in basketball who advocated for breaking down racial segregation in the 60s. He believed that teams needed to add talented Black players to develop.

He recruited his first group of Black players, Elvin Hayes and Don Chaney, ushering in the first glorious phase for the Cougars.

He then turned his attention to the African continent with great foresight and brought Olajuwon from Nigeria.

Of course, he never expected that this young African man who started out playing handball would achieve such great success in the future.

Today he witnessed an even more mature and exceptionally talented inside player.

However, he knew that now was not the time to admire; he had to eliminate number 11 by any means necessary.

The Cougars used every possible means to defend Gan Guoyang, employing double-teams more aggressively than Georgetown and fouls more viciously than Duke, all in an effort to prevent him from scoring.

Just like Michigan's defense against Bird in 1979, there were always two people in front of him when he was off the ball, and at least three people in front of him when he was shooting with the ball.

Bird's problem was that he had to take too many tough shots. His difficult mid-range shots and floaters greatly reduced his efficiency, and Fig was suppressed from the beginning and never managed to turn the tide.

However, Gan Guoyang did not force a mid-range shot, nor did he use a hook shot recklessly under dense defense—that would easily allow the opponent to steal the ball.

He played extremely aggressively, constantly grabbing offensive rebounds, and after receiving the ball on the flanks, he accelerated and drove inside to the basket, drawing fouls from Houston's interior defense.

His large hands can hold the ball firmly, and no matter how the Cougars' perimeter players try to steal it, he can control the ball and then throw it toward the basket.

In previous matches, Gan Guoyang was loved by many fans for his elegant playing style.

But tonight he abandoned elegance and instead used savagery to help the Bulldogs stay close in the score and prevent them from falling behind in the first half.

As time went on, the Bulldogs gradually regained their composure and finished the first half trailing by 6 points, 40-46, before going into halftime.

Gan Guoyang scored 19 points in the first half alone, grabbed 6 offensive rebounds, and made 7 of 8 free throws. After the timeout, almost all of his points came from free throws.

Back in the locker room, Berman wanted to readjust the defensive strategy and change the seemingly ineffective full-court press defense from the first half.

Gan Guoyang wiped his sweat and shook his head, saying, "No, we must stick to our tight defense. If we don't, what are we going to do with our energy for fishing? We must persevere, like constantly hammering a stone. One or two hammer blows won't change anything, but if you keep at it, the stone will eventually crack. We must keep tearing them apart. Don't worry about the offense, I'll handle that. Defense is the key to our victory tonight. Bobby, you have to believe in us."

Seeing Gan Guoyang's determined gaze, Berman decided to stick to the full-court press until the very last moment of the game.

(End of this chapter)