"35 seconds, 74:79, Dan Marley throw-in, Charles Smith, now he's had four fouls, dribble...... Snatched! Fell to the ground, lost the ball, and there were only thirty seconds left...... Out of bounds, the ball went to the USSR. There are 29 seconds left......"

"Oh! Steal! A quick steal! It's Anderson, dunk it! Anderson's steal plus dunk gave Anderson two points. ”

"76:79, and now there is still ...... Oh, and Charles Smith fouled again, his fifth foul, and he's going to be sent off with just 15 seconds left. ”

In 1988, in the semifinals of the men's basketball team at the 24th Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea, NBC TV commentators Dick Embberg and Al Maguire watched the U.S. men's basketball team struggle on the court, and there was a sense of despair in their voices.

With the Soviet Union's possession running out of game time, the U.S. had zero hope of winning in a FIBA game without a three-point line.

They had to force the Soviets to make mistakes with oppressive tackles, but the Soviets kept the ball in their hands, and the impetuous Americans moved too much and were whistled for a foul by the referee – the athletes were just a bunch of college students, after all.

"With the last two seconds left in the game, the Soviet team has already begun to celebrate in advance."

The U.S. team made two free throws because of a technical foul, Soviet guard Matthew Leonis hit one of two free throws, and in the last second, the Soviet Union scored a buzzer-beating layup, and the U.S. team had already given up the game early.

At 82:76, the U.S. lost the semifinals by six points, ending their 21-game winning streak on the international stage and losing the Olympic men's gold medal for the second time in 16 years, following a 1972 loss to the Soviet Union in Munich (the U.S. did not participate in Moscow in 1980). ）

But unlike in 1972, when they were "conspiracy" and the referee took the championship, this time, the Americans suffered a complete defeat.

They were suppressed by the Soviets throughout the game, with two of the team's most important players, David Robinson and Danny Manning, suffering early foul troubles under the Soviets' targeted tactics, and both were sent off in the crucial second half.

The lost U.S. players stood on the sidelines, looking helpless, watching the Soviet players hug and celebrate wildly, apparently they had no idea that in the Olympics, they would not even make it to the final, but would have to fight for third place.

The coach of the U.S. team, the famous coach John Thompson, made a weak final cry on the sidelines, he wanted to boost the morale of the team and cheer up the youngsters a little, but no player responded to him, and everyone had a look on their faces - Mu Ran.

This is, in the stands, a tall figure stands, he wears a white cap, wears a plain jacket, is an oriental face, but does not look like a local Korean at all.

His face is angular and resolute like an ancient Greek sculpture, not at all like a North Korean with a flat face.

Under his nose and chin, there is some green stubble, with a slight sense of vicissitudes, but if you see his eyes under the cap, there is no such feeling at all, but a bright brilliance.

Since the game was over, the crowd began to leave, but instead of leaving the arena through the safe passage like the rest of the fans, the big man walked to the players' locker room, which was the dressing room of the American team.

The security guard near the locker room naturally wanted to stop him, but soon a person came out of the locker room, walked up to the security guard and said, "Let him in, he is not an ordinary spectator." ”

"No, Mr. Bellman, I'm not going in, I don't want to see the sad and unfortunate appearance of the children. Prepare yourself, I have made an appointment with Mr. Gomolsky to meet at the Olympic Village. ”

"Okay, Gan, wait for me for a while, I can't stand that atmosphere anymore."

This tall man is really Gan Guoyang, and now, it is 1988, and more than two years have passed since that finals.

In the finals two years ago, Gan Guoyang made four three-pointers in the first game, and beat the Celtics with a hook and free throws at the last minute, which unexpectedly won on the road and broke the Celtics' unbeaten home game in the playoffs.

But just when everyone was hopeful about this Trail Blazers, Gan Guoyang recovered from an old injury to his right arm in the second game, torn a tendon, and was reimbursed in the finals.

The Trailblazers, who lost Gan Guoyang, were simply unable to compete with the Celtics, and after winning the first game, they lost four games in a row, including three consecutive home defeats at Memorial Stadium, and were defeated by the mighty Celtics 1-4 and lost the championship.

Gan's injury not only cost the Trail Blazers a chance to compete for a championship, but also completely disrupted the Trail Blazers' plans to build a team, as Gan's injury caused him to miss the entire 1986-1987 season.

Originally, he was going not to renew his contract with Vanderwig in the offseason, trade him or give him up, but Gan Guoyang's season reimbursement forced the Trail Blazers to re-sign a contract with the team's top scorer on the outside, and they can't do without a scorer in the new season.

At the same time, in the 1986 draft, Gan Guoyang's reimbursement also changed the Trail Blazers' draft strategy, originally they wanted to continue to select a backcourt player in the draft, such as Mark Price, Nate McMillan, to contribute to Gan Guoyang's system.

But Gan's injury, and concerns about his injury, which stemmed from Bill Wharton, led the uniform team to decide to pick an inside lineman.

Gan's successful experience, coupled with Gan's own advice, led the Blazers to make another bold decision in the draft, picking the Soviet Union with the 24th pick in the round, 7'2" heavy center, Arvidas Sabernis.

The reason why I say bold is because although the pioneer chose him, he may not be able to come, because it is still the Cold War period, and the confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union has extended from politics and economics to the sports world, and whether the Soviet sports community is willing to release him is a big question.

And the reason why Gan Guoyang came to Seoul at this time was to solve this big problem that had been shelved for two years.

"Let's go, Mr. Bellman, I hope you don't run into anyone from the FBI on the road, otherwise I'm afraid that our meeting with Mr. Gomorsky will be regarded as a foreign country, and you, the assistant coach of the U.S. team, may be responsible for this defeat." Out of the venue, walking on the way to the Olympic Village, Gan Guoyang and Bellman joked.

With the "help" of Gan Guoyang, Bellman not only became the defensive coach of the Trail Blazers, but also became the assistant coach of the U.S. team in 1988 because of his outstanding work ability.

You know, in the 1986-1987 season in Gan Guoyang's absence, thanks to Bellman's further refinement, the Trail Blazers became a more defense-oriented team, and they reached the fourth level in the league in defensive efficiency, behind the Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons and Houston Rockets.

In the playoffs, they lacked a core center, and they also fought hard to reach the Western Conference semifinals, only to lose to the Los Angeles Lakers 2:4.

It's just that they lack the offensive and defensive core, and no matter how strong the overall defense is, they can't go further - not to mention, the team with the strongest defense that year was the Boston Celtics, who also won the championship for a second time.

"I didn't understand at first why you suggested this guy to the team, but after today's game, I kind of knew. He's not as good as David, but he's a really good centre-forward. Aren't you worried about him replacing you? As an assistant coach of the U.S. team, Bellman knows a lot about the team's main center, David Robinson.

"You also know that he is not as good as David, and if he is not even like David, he is not as good as me. And, I think it's time for me to change my style of play a little bit as well, and with Sabonis I feel like I have a lot to learn. ”

Gan Guoyang was keen on inside fighting in the past, and his superior strength and growing weight allowed him to be invincible at the center position at 6-foot-10, and in the 1987-1988 season after his comeback, Gan Guoyang won the rebounding king again with his average rebounds per game, and his average points per game also soared

However, Gan Guoyang's assists are still stuck at a pitiful 1.7, and he is still very bad at transferring the ball after being trapped, inside passes, and weak side balls, even if sometimes the flash of inspiration passes are extremely beautiful, but the overall help for the team is still not enough.

Gan Guoyang didn't expect that the talent of "passing" would be so difficult to open, but after this summer, Gan Guoyang felt that it was time, especially when he wanted to help the Trail Blazers get Sabonis, the "7-foot point guard".

"Okay, you really should have a good sense of passing, but it's also my fault for not honing this skill in high school and college, otherwise you wouldn't have been trapped in this with your talent." Bellman instructed Gan Guoyang to use him as an inside super killer, and passing is always the second choice.

In the 1988 playoffs, Gan led the Portland Trail Blazers to meet the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals, and the Lakers added a capable player to their roster, Mitchell Sampson.

In the 1987 season, Sampson was traded by the Trail Blazers to the San Antonio Spurs, and then, at the beginning of the season, he was traded to the Lakers, who needed him to limit Kevin McHale.

However, in the 1987 Finals, Mitchell Sampson didn't seem to be able to play the role he wanted.

However, in the 1988 game against the Trail Blazers, Sampson became a surprise soldier, he was very familiar with Gan Guoyang's ball path, and the bag was unusually in place and timely, which made Gan Guoyang suffer a lot and greatly affected the swing.

As a result, the Trail Blazers lost the Western Conference Finals 3:4 and lost the opportunity to enter the Finals.

In the offseason, the Trail Blazers made a series of moves, first finally trading Vanderwich away, trading the Nets from the Nets for top blue-collar power forward Buck Williams, and then signing Adrian Blanche and Davon Cook in the free market to supplement the team's backcourt.

The team's core lineup has not changed much, and Gan Guoyang's hard training in the offseason has made him confident that his state is at its peak.

Now, he's working with Bellman to bring back the final piece of the championship puzzle from Seoul.