Gan Guoyang had his reasons for not taking the other semi-final contenders seriously.
Because the other winner of the semi-finals was none other than Washington High School. (Note: Historically, Washington High School won the 1982 Northern California Division 1 championship, but they lost in the finals.)
The two San Francisco teams, after much circling, met again in the finals of the Northern California championships.
This was the third recent encounter between the two teams, with each having won a game; this match would be their decisive battle of the year.
The game was scheduled for February 17, and the once-bustling Sheraton Hotel, from a week ago, was now left with only the teams from Beiqiao High School and Washington High School.
At lunchtime in the buffet restaurant, the teams encountered each other, but no one spoke a word.
The atmosphere was quite tense as the final showdown approached.
