The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 1811 - 64: Staying in Portland (3)

But in recalling the past, on the path they walked together, who guided whom more?

Beelman has an answer in his heart, actually Gan Guoyang was more like his mentor, his benefactor on the path of basketball and even in life.

At those critical turning points of fate, it was always Gan who stepped forward to awaken Beelman, giving him tremendous help.

In these 20 years, he has climbed very high, to a height that seems incredible when he calms down to think about it.

Standing at this height and looking down, the road up the mountain was steep, every step was difficult, in hindsight, without Gan beside him, he couldn't have climbed up.

He couldn't even step onto the first step.

So, in the so-called mentor-mentee showdown, Gan was really the mentor, and Beelman was the student.

Gan was the true guide, a mentor in life and spirit, a Moses prophet who parted the Red Sea ahead.

Beelman very much wanted to defeat him, he made a lot of preparations, including psychological ones.

But deep in his heart, he knows he lacks the courage to kill Gan.

Because that would mean the collapse of beliefs and betrayal of his self-growth path.

Beelman hasn't reached that point yet, this is evident from the publication of "The Sun Rises from the West" this season, he still couldn't entirely step out of Gan's shadow.

If even he couldn't, then how could Tim Duncan break free?

Perhaps the best news is, Gan is finally going to retire.

Neither Duncan nor Beelman would have to face this fearsome opponent anymore.

But once such a thought enters the mind, the heart loses the courage for a last-ditch, life-or-death battle.

This might be Gan Guoyang's psychological tactic, using his retirement to boost the home team's morale and break the opponent's will.

In short, the Celtics spent two nerve-wracking days in Portland, waiting for the start of the third game.

Under the 2-3-2 format, it meant the entire Celtics team had to stay in Portland for over a week, a huge psychological test.

Young players experiencing the finals for the first time find it hard to adapt and relieve such pressure, and Beelman did not handle this issue well.

He attempted to solve psychological and morale issues with a lot of tactical changes and rotation adjustments.

In other words, using tactical diligence to rectify strategic errors.

What the result will be, the match will reveal.

-----------------

On June 12th, the third game of the finals was held at the Rose Garden Arena.

Before the game, the Trail Blazers' opening performance was exceedingly glamorous and grand, the atmosphere on site reached the peak of excitement.

Moreover, the Rose Garden Arena was just the eye of the storm of this grand carnival.

With this as the center, the entire City of Portland fell into the annual "Trail Blazers fever." 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Along the banks of the Willamette River, near the Paramount Theater and Memorial Coliseum, at Rose Garden Square, people gathered everywhere.

Though one could watch the live broadcast at home, going outside meant listening to the radio, but many preferred to venture out to enjoy the joyous atmosphere of gathering together.

Since 1984, this enthusiasm has never cooled down, and as this year is about to end, the final heat is astonishing.

There weren't people who didn't try to persuade Gan to keep playing, but Portland people understood Gan, he is someone who stands by his word.

Many fans said, "Instead of hoping Gan doesn't retire, why not think of ways to bring him back later."

After all, he once retired and came back, so another comeback doesn't seem impossible.

Therefore, if Gan's retiring this time, everyone should happily give him a beautiful farewell.

In the night sky, a helicopter carried a giant image of Ah Gan, flying over the Rose Garden Arena.

The screens in the arena played footage of the helicopter, the stadium was jubilant, and Gan Guoyang, watching, couldn't help but be filled with tears.

Once again in his heart, he vowed to leave his tenth championship in loyal Portland!