Back when we played the Princeton System, cuts and backdoor cuts were used much more frequently than pick-and-rolls.
Gan Guoyang was an exceptionally skilled inside player at setting screens, and his pick-and-roll cooperation with Porter, Drexler, Kobe, and Petrović was merely an auxiliary tactical method.
The fundamental reason was that the League did not encourage it. The screener had to stay stationary, and the power of the pick-and-roll was greatly reduced. You cannot screen well, subsequent tactics are difficult to carry out, giving defenders too much time to react.
However, FIBA rules differ; the penalty scale for pick-and-rolls is much more lenient. The screener can make many movements and can move in certain directions, the variations of the pick-and-roll increase, causing more trouble for the defenders.
Two consecutive offensive plays, Lithuania scored in both, while China Team only saw Hu Weidong hit a mid-range shot. Lithuania took the lead and had possession of the ball.
Gan Guoyang knew he had to find a way to break Lithuania's continuous double screens.
At that moment, Gan Guoyang adopted the strategy of firmly bypassing the defense, bypassing the screen, and using his long arms to interfere.
Jasikevicius attempted a direct three-point shot but missed due to interference, and Yao Ming grabbed the rebound.
On the fast break, Gan Guoyang dribbled with long strides, rushing coast-to-coast to the basket, and scored with a single-arm slam dunk!
At 36, after storing energy with hands on hips for a while, he could still initiate a fast-break counterattack on his own.
The score was tied, 84:84, with 30 seconds left, and Lithuania called a timeout.
Yunas arranged the tactics for the critical offensive play, while Sabonis, behind Lithuania's bench, was pacing around anxiously.
Because he knew, once it reached such a critical time, it was Ah Gan's time, and they had to be careful.
Sabonis' intuition was correct; although Yunas arranged the offense for quite a while, issues arose during the inbound play.
Yao Ming stood at the sideline to interfere with the inbound pass, causing Lithuania's sideline pass to be too high and slow, which Gan Guoyang anticipated.
Gan Guoyang dashed over and jumped up, tapping the ball towards the frontcourt, leading to a bigger mistake from Jasikevicius.
While Gan Guoyang was running forward with the ball, Jasikevicius hugged Gan Guoyang from behind, resulting in an unsportsmanlike foul, granting China Team two free throws and possession!
This play completely buried Lithuania's hopes of winning.
If Gan Guoyang had directly intercepted and scored a fast-break, earning two points, Lithuania would still have ample time to attack.
They might even have had the chance for a three-point buzzer-beater to take the game directly, not giving Ah Gan a chance for a counterattack.
But Jasikevicius acted impulsively, bewildered by Gan Guoyang's defense throughout the second half, leading to mistakes.
This is Gan Guoyang's terrifying aspect; when matched against him, it's easy to crumble, and once you crumble, mistakes happen, often costing the game.
Therefore, after the foul, Jasikevicius squatted on the ground, covering his face for a while, feeling himself too foolish, questioning why he reached out.
But what's done cannot be undone; it was too late. Gan Guoyang made both free throws; in two Olympic Games, he never missed a free throw.
84:86, and China Team still had to inbound.
Gan Guoyang received the ball, and Lithuania had to foul again, leading Gan Guoyang to the free-throw line once more, hitting both free throws again, 84:88, a 4-point gap.
Lithuania had no timeouts left; when their last offensive three-pointer missed, the game ended, and China Team defeated Lithuania by 4 points.
With a group stage record of 3 wins and 1 loss, they secured advancement and locked in one of the top two group positions, ensuring they wouldn't be in the same bracket as Team USA.
After the victory, Gan Guoyang also raised both arms, enjoying the cheers from the entire crowd. However, his expression was much calmer; even when he won an NBA championship, he remained composed.
Gan Guoyang scored 33 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, dished out 4 assists, and snagged 3 steals throughout the game. He successfully locked down Jasikevicius in the second half, making the King of Europe realize the weight of the King of the world.
