Chapter 52: Fans

In the final second, the miracle failed to happen.

The entire game of close-quarters combat had drained Washington High School's players of their shooting touch.

Their last-second shot was also heavily contested by Gan Guoyang’s giant palm, resulting in an airball.

Wu Zhixiong secured the ball under the basket and hurled it high into the air. The players of North Overseas Chinese High School tightly embraced one another, celebrating another step forward toward their ultimate goal.

It was a grueling and hard-fought battle. Gan Guoyang finished the game with 19 points, 28 rebounds, and 11 blocks.

It could be said that he squeezed his defensive capabilities to the absolute limit, while the players of Washington High School had also given their all—except for Quentin Stevenson.

However, Stevenson had also played a huge role tonight, inflicting rare psychological damage on Gan Guoyang.

Had it not been for Gan Guoyang’s unyielding willpower, that final possession might not have gone in, and both teams would have been dragged into overtime.

Winning the Northern California championship, the atmosphere at the venue was actually not as heated as the San Francisco League championship.

The fans at the San Jose Civic Auditorium stood up to applaud North Overseas Chinese High School, but no one rushed onto the court, and no one went crazy.

Therefore, the awards ceremony proceeded smoothly in the center of the court. The entire team of North Overseas Chinese High School held the trophy symbolizing the Northern Division championship and took a group photo in the middle of the floor.

When the ceremony concluded, the Civic Auditorium was completely empty. It was drizzling outside, bearing no resemblance to the passion of a championship victory.

"It feels like winning the Northern California championship isn't as thrilling as the San Francisco League championship," Gan Guozhong complained in the locker room after receiving the trophy.

"Of course. San Francisco is full of our people, there are so many Chinese... San Jose has the most Japanese," Chen Xing explained.

There were many Japanese-Americans living in San Jose, but during World War II, they had been interned and subjected to forced labor. After the war ended, they tried every possible means to break away from Japanese influence and become thoroughly American.

In contrast, many Chinese people in the Bay Area retained stronger connections to their motherland and took pride in it. The curriculum at North Overseas Chinese High School was infused with Chinese culture.

"Hey, since no one is celebrating the championship with us today, let's celebrate ourselves. How about everyone sings a song?" Gan Guoyang suggested, and everyone readily agreed.

However, they hit a snag over what song to actually sing.

Many pop songs were unsuitable for group singing and had nothing to do with victory.

Some songs you knew how to sing, but others didn't, making a chorus impossible.

After discussing for a while, Gan Guozhong said, "We certainly can't sing 'The Star-Spangled Banner.' That song is too hard, and I don't know how to sing it yet."

Huang Zhenfan suddenly suggested, "How about we sing 'My Motherland'? Everyone learned it in elementary school, right?"

Everyone nodded in agreement. Although far overseas, the influence of the song "My Motherland" extended across overseas Chinese communities worldwide, serving as an introductory tune for many during their childhood.

Except for Bellman, Franklin, and Xu Xun, who didn't know the lyrics, the rest of the group started singing in unison: "A great river, waves wide, the wind blows the fragrance of rice on both banks..."

As the song ended, there were faint tears in everyone's eyes. Even though Bellman couldn't understand it, he was somewhat moved and decided it was a very good song.

Gan Guoyang said to Xu Xun, "Axun, you should sing a song from your Koreans too."

Xu Xun scratched his head, thought for a moment, and said, "I... then I'll sing 'Aegukga' instead."

"Rivers and mountains adorned with brilliant morning sun, rich in gold and silver treasures, three thousand miles of embroidered mountains and rivers..."

Xu Xun usually didn't talk much, but he sang quite well, though his face turned a bit red as he sang.

Finally, it was Franklin's turn to sing. Everyone expected Franklin to belt out a jazz or pop tune, but instead, in a deep, gravelly voice, he sang the African-American spiritual "Ol' River":

"There's an old man called the Mississippi, that old man, I don't plant to mix with, 'cause he don't care 'bout nothin' nohow..."

This song reflected the tragic lives of African-Americans on the Mississippi River in the American South, temporarily weighing down the locker room atmosphere.

Bellman interrupted Franklin, saying, "Alright, alright, everyone stop singing. Are we still a damn basketball team? Are we still celebrating a victory? You guys are all singers—great artists singing praises to the motherland and the tragic lives of Black people. God, what kind of players have I taken on... Pack up, back to the hotel, roll back to San Francisco tomorrow, and remember to practice the day after!"

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Although the Northern California championship had received a lukewarm reception in San Jose, the North Overseas Chinese Water Clock team was warmly welcomed upon returning to San Francisco the next day.

This was the first true Northern California championship in CIF history. On March 1st, they would represent the entire Northern California to compete for the California State Championship.

The campus of North Overseas Chinese High School in Chinatown had never been so lively. Batch after batch of reporters, Chinese community groups, and prominent political and business figures came to the school to interview, comfort, and encourage the Water Clock team, as well as offer sponsorships.

Several commercial brands also came knocking to discuss partnerships, with their primary target being Gan Guoyang, hoping he would endorse their brands.

However, Gan Guoyang turned down these high-priced endorsement ads, stating that if he were to do an endorsement, the entire Water Clock team had to be included, and the earnings must be shared equally among everyone.

In the end, they shot print advertisements for a sportswear retailer and a basketball brand manufacturer.

A medium-length feature report about their team was published in the well-known sports magazine *Sports Illustrated* in February 1982.

Bellman told everyone that if they could win the California State Championship on March 1st, it was entirely possible for them to grace the cover of *Sports Illustrated* for March.

Articles and reports about Gan Guoyang were increasing, and his influence began to expand from the San Francisco Bay Area to the entirety of Northern California.

The basketball world started talking more and more about this Chinese basketball prodigy, though people at the time could not yet foresee the immense impact he would have on the sport of basketball.

Compared to his rising fame in San Francisco and Northern California, Gan Guoyang had not yet drawn much attention in talent-rich Southern California.

In Los Angeles, San Diego, and Long Beach, basketball talent was the one thing in endless supply.

Bill Walton, Gail Goodrich, Greg Ballard, and a massive wave of future talented players hailed from there.

UCLA, USC, UC Berkeley, and the Los Angeles Lakers were all nationally renowned basketball powerhouses.

On February 28th, the Water Clock team boarded a plane and arrived in Los Angeles, then were taken by an airport shuttle to a hotel close to The Great Western Forum, grandly named the "Los Angeles International Airport-Holiday Crest Hotel," which sounded quite impressive.

However, upon arrival, they discovered it was just a two-story motel.

The rooms had ordinary decor, terrible hygiene conditions, and the carpets were riddled with cigarette burn holes.

The bedsheets in some rooms still had unwashed bloodstains, leaving one to wonder what had happened there previously.

The worst part was that the hotel lacked extra-long beds, which posed a major headache for Gan Guoyang and Franklin, both of whom were very tall.

Bellman and the team coordinator, Teacher Liu, called the CIF tournament organizing committee hoping to change hotels, but they were told no rooms were available nearby.

"Shit, is this how these guys in Southern California organize this year's most important tournament?" Bellman spat after hanging up the phone.

"Southern California is determined to win this championship, so they're definitely making trouble for us."

Last year, at the inaugural CIF California State Championship, two Oakland teams fought for the crown.

This year, it was split into Northern and Southern California, and Southern California wanted by all means to keep the championship in Los Angeles.

In the end, Bellman managed to piece together extra-long beds for Gan Guoyang and Franklin using cabinets and pillows, letting them make do for the night.

The next day, they ran into another problem: there was no place to hold a warm-up practice.

The game was scheduled for the evening, while during the day The Great Western Forum was being used for other purposes, making it impossible to go in for an acclimatization practice.

Southern California's tournament committee had not arranged a training venue for the Water Clock team, simply telling them to enter the arena a bit earlier that evening to warm up.

Anyway, neither team had been assigned a training location, so it was fair.

Bellman gritted his teeth in anger, cursing, "Go fuck yourselves, you bunch of sons of bitches. Riverside Polytechnic High School is only an hour's drive from The Great Western Forum, and they damn well have training facilities!"

Yet the protest remained ineffective; no arrangement meant no arrangement. Bellman and Teacher Liu had to figure something out on their own.

Teacher Liu contacted the Chinese American Citizens Alliance's Los Angeles branch, and they managed to find a middle school near The Great Western Forum.

The Alliance had previously made donations to this middle school, and upon learning of the situation, the principal agreed to let the Water Clock team use the school's gymnasium for two hours.

Thus, after finishing lunch, the Water Clock team headed to the middle school's gym to warm up and prepare for the evening's game.

Barely half an hour into the practice, another group of people entered the gym—it was the school's girls' basketball team.

The girls' coach stated that they had a game that afternoon and needed to warm up, while Bellman argued that they had applied through the principal.

Both were stubborn individuals and refused to budge, so they went to the principal's office to argue their case.

The Water Clock team's players had no choice but to halt their practice, while the girls changed into their uniforms and began warming up on the court.

The Water Clock team's players watched intently from the sidelines; watching girls warm up for a basketball game was no less effective than running and shooting on the court.

To their surprise, they discovered that among these girls was one with yellow skin and black hair.

"Hey, hey, hey, that girl is gorgeous, great figure too. Do you think she's Chinese, Japanese, or Korean?"

"With this height and facial features, do you even need to ask? Definitely Chinese."

"Who's gonna go ask for her contact info before the coach comes back?"

"Asking is fucking useless, we're leaving right after our game. You think you can stay in Los Angeles?"

Several guys were discussing animatedly, while Gan Guoyang stood on the sidelines practicing his dribbling with a basketball.

He deliberately closed his eyes to sharpen his ball-handling feel. The noisy chatter around him could not distract him.

Suddenly, the chatter stopped, and following that, he heard a crisp voice: "Hello, are you Ah Gan?"

He opened his eyes to see a girl wearing a white top and black pants standing right in front of him, holding a basketball.

She must have been the girl they were just talking about. Black hair, genuinely pretty, looking a bit like...

Gan Guoyang’s mind kept telling him she resembled a certain movie star, but he couldn't quite place it immediately.

"Hello? Did I disturb you?" the girl asked again, pressing her lips together.

"Oh, no. Yes, my last name is Gan, my name is Gan Guoyang."

"It really is you! I saw you in the newspaper. You're amazing at basketball. Tonight, you've got to do your best!" With that, the girl smiled, picked up her ball, and ran back to join her warm-up.

The girls' basketball team broke into a brief commotion, whispering something to the girl that made her blush fiercely.

Seeing her smile, Gan Guoyang remembered—the girl looked just like Joey Wong.