Cinderella Story

One of the best ways I've found to connect with guys from work is through basketball. They love the game but struggle to find a place to play. Those of you that have read the blog for a while have seen pictures of those guys at our neighborhood "half court".

Well, these guys took the court in a corporation wide "Olympics" basketball event that included a tournament followed by a gold/silver/bronze medal game. There were about 15 teams represented total. Evidently, our team had never done well in previous competitions. Apparently, we had never won a game in previous contests.

In addition to the lack of victories, these guys had really never played any "organized" basketball. In the USA, we have dozens of opportunities during our youth to join and play organized sports. Ample opportunities do not exist in China to learn team sports---this also means that you never learn how to execute a basketball "lay-up" or play zone defense.

And so we began the tournament. Game 1 was tough and against a team that wore matching Dallas Mavericks jerseys. I quickly learned that matching jerseys spelled a tough match-up for our mix-and-match bunch. Our guys learned a lot in that first game. The biggest lesson that I taught them was that you don't smoke cigarettes during timeouts and halftime. We went on to win that first game. There was chest-bumping, hooting, hollering, and of course cigarettes. You'd have thought that we were NBA champs. The guys didn't leave that dirty, outdoor court until the sunlight had completely disappeared.

We won again in week 2. People I didn't even know started stopping me in the factory and, with their broken english, wishing us luck in the next game. The buzzing had started.

I had big plans for our team in week 3. With the help of Zhao Jianqing translating, we taught the team a zone defense. It was the 2-3 zone. Now, the amateurs in China play man-to-man defense which consists of 2 simple steps:

1. Pick a man
2. Chase him

So, going "zone" was a big deal. They picked it up great and it absolutely befuddled opponent 3. We won in a landslide. More chest bumps, cigarettes, and company buzz. I was thanked for bringing them this new "defense play".

There was a lot of anticipation for game 4. The guys were anxious but excited to see if our zone defense could shut them down. Our lesson for game 4 was a pre-game lesson. I taught the guys how to execute a "lay up" line. WHERE WAS MY DIGITAL CAMERA THAT DAY?!?!?!? These guys lining up and figuring out the timing associated with catching the pass, running and shooting, followed by the opposing line leader grabbing the rebound and sending to the next guy. Sounds simple until you ask 12 chinese guys to do it for the first time.....and half of them don't speak english.

The zone defense bent but did not break. We had earned a berth in the gold medal game. The entire team was ecstatic. People could not believe that little JARC (Jixiang Automotive Roof Trimming) had earned a berth in the corporation-wide championship game.

The final day of the Olympic event was truly "olympic" in nature. There was an opening ceremony and the medal games in all the vents: track and field, ping pong, soccer, and of course, basketball.

Our gold-medal opponent wore coordinated San Antonio Spurs jerseys. Uh-oh. Then, we learned that they were also playing "our" 2-3 zone defense. Again, uh-oh.

We took some early timeouts so I could walk the team through basic counters to the 2-3 zone. Our best big man got into major foul trouble in the first half. Despite the challenges, we found a groove late in the 2nd half and closed the deficit to 2 points. Both sets of fans were going nuts. I had lost my voice encouraging the guys and challenging our fans to get louder than the others.

Our deficit was still 2 when the referees blew the final whistle. What a tough loss but every cinderella story comes to an end. I reminded them that they had a lot to be proud of. To look at how far we had come. And with that we headed to the final ceremony.

I was shocked to find us up on a large medal stand, in front of probably a thousand people. We each received our silver medal and JARC was presented with the 2nd place trophy. Then we were ceremoniously doused with champagne by the gold medalists. It was a fitting end to a cinderella run.

It was probably the neatest experience I've had here in China. Building into people here happens in multiple ways and basketball was one way that hit close to home. I was thrilled to share it with them.


Enjoy the pictures.