The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 595 - 9 Group of 3_2

Only Divac could play matches and adapt to the NBA’s confrontational environment with the rookies.

It was a strange sight; in Europe, Yugoslavia and the Soviet men’s basketball teams were arch-rivals.

At the Seoul Olympics in 1988, the Soviets and Yugoslavia were the strongest competitors.

Petrović was the scoring king of Yugoslavia, and Sabonis was the Rebound King of the entire Olympics.

The two teams first met in the group stage, where the Soviet Team suffered a big loss, 76:92, losing by 16 points.

This margin was quite exaggerated in a 40-minute FIBA game, especially when the two sides were so evenly matched.

In that game, Sabonis only got 11 points. He hadn’t recovered from an Achilles tendon injury, and the Trail Blazers’ doctors advised him not to play.

But for the gold medal and victory, he played anyway and had a struggling performance in the first match, losing to the arch-rival Yugoslavia. Sabonis was very disappointed.

However, Sabonis and the Soviet Team got better as the tournament went on. In the crucial semifinals, they took down Team USA; Sabonis had 13 points and 13 rebounds. His defense in the Three Second Zone played a crucial role; American shooters found it difficult to penetrate and score inside. Superstar Danny Manning didn’t score a single point the entire game.

Then, the Soviet Team faced Yugoslavia again in the finals. This time Sabonis showed no mercy; he devastated Divac, destroyed Yugoslavia’s inside game, scoring 20 points and pulling down 15 rebounds, avenging his earlier humiliation and leading his team to the championship.

Petrović scored the most points in the game with 24, but it was in vain. His drives were repeatedly thwarted by Sabonis.

Divac was even more awkward in front of Sabonis, getting dunked on and blocked by him on offense.

The defeat was a huge disappointment for both men, and they sharply remembered Sabonis, the Soviet giant.

Unexpectedly, now the three men had become teammates; one was playing on the court, and the other two were zoning out on the sideline.

Sabonis and Petrović were a bit awkward together; they didn’t speak the same language, and both were reserved by nature.

When they occasionally wanted to say something, often one would start a conversation and the other wouldn’t know what to say, leading to more silence.

Neither of them had much in common with the surrounding American players; most of the rookies on short contracts wouldn’t stay with the team for long.

Although they didn’t talk much, their relationship wasn’t bad. During the ’88 Olympics, they had bumped into each other off the court as opponents.

After the Olympics final, the organizing committee arranged for drug testing, and the two were placed in the same room. Buckwalter and Gan Guoyang watched the game together.

Buckwalter was very worried that they might clash inside, affecting their future cooperation with the Trail Blazers.

But when the drug testing was over, they came out side by side, looking normal and relaxed. Sabonis even invited Petrović for a pint of beer.

Divac, the youngest among the trio, turned out to be the best glue between the quiet duo; cheerful and lively, he was the worst at English but talked the most and enjoyed making jokes.

Facing his old rival Sabonis, Divac wasn’t resistant; on the contrary, the two giants got along very well.

Sabonis was able to participate in some basic physical training, and Rick Adelman allowed him to join tactical sessions.

The two Slavic giants would play one-on-one in the gym, exchanging experiences.

Because of Divac’s involvement, Petrović became more talkative too; they had a common topic: basketball.

Eventually, as long as Divac was around, the three would chat and laugh quite nicely.

Without Divac, the other two would become silent, but Divac felt good with either of them.

The summer league the Trail Blazers participated in was held in Salt Lake City. The Jazz team’s operator, Frank Layden’s son, Scott Layden, invited the Trail Blazers, Kings, and Suns to compete for the Rocky Mountain Championship along with the Jazz team. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

The Trail Blazers ultimately won this summer league, and Divac’s performance was not too bad.

However, he showed a lack of toughness in the games; his tall frame was consistently knocked about by American players.

Clearly, the American basketball environment involved more intense physical contact and competition; the first challenge for a European player in America was the physicality.

When the team left Salt Lake City, Rick Adelman reminded the three players in the training camp summary, "There will be a rookie camp starting in early October, at that time... you’ll face some tests. You’ll need to work on your physical toughness, especially Divac, you can’t get knocked around anymore. Petrović, you too need to bulk up a bit; you’re too skinny, you could get crushed. As for Arvydas... take care of your injury."

Adelman clearly trusted Sabonis’s strength and toughness, but Sabonis himself wasn’t quite as confident.

Privately, he told Divac and Petrović, "I heard that the Trail Blazers have a tradition where Ah Gan participates in the rookie training camp every year to personally train the newcomers."

Petrović said, "West the manager mentioned it; I’m really looking forward to it."

Divac patted Petrović and said, "This guy is crazy; he always wants to challenge Ah Gan."

Sabonis shook his head and said, "I’ve faced Ah Gan one on one."

Both were wide-eyed with curiosity, urging Sabonis to continue the story.

Sabonis coughed and said, "It was during the Seoul Olympics. You know, Ah Gan came to watch the game. After the game, he found me, we found a court and had a little showdown, and then..."