The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 709 Hesitation leads to defeat
Petrovich still remembers the grand ambition he made when he first arrived in Portland in 1989.

At that time, he drove along the elevated highways on the outskirts of Portland, where huge billboards with giant portraits of Gan Guoyang were everywhere.

That was the king of Portland, the most successful foreign player in NBA history. At a young age, he won three consecutive championships and was already an insurmountable peak.

Petrovich was inspired with the idea that "a real man should be like this," and vowed that one day he would be on a billboard like Forrest Gump, or even surpass Forrest Gump.

Later he realized that he could never surpass Forrest Gump in his lifetime, but he still became an important member of the championship team through his own efforts and progress.

His large portrait also hangs in a prominent place in downtown Portland—it's from a sneaker ad featuring Avia.

After leaving the Trail Blazers and returning to the national team, Petrovic faced a completely different environment; the Yugoslavia of the past no longer existed.

His friendship with Divac was buried deep in his memory, impossible to reveal; the two were now blood enemies.

Divac's Yugoslavian team was banned from the Olympics. Like Lithuania, the Croatian basketball team carried the hopes of a newly independent nation.

His teammates noticed that Petrovic had changed a lot compared to the past.

Not only in the length of his hair and his physique, but also in his style of doing things, and even certain aspects of his personality, he is different from the past.

He has always loved basketball. When he was a child, his father made him learn guitar, so he secretly loosened the guitar strings and made the teacher spend half an hour tuning the guitar so that he could hold his head and think about basketball.

Off the court, he is mature, gentle, and humble, but on the court, he becomes extremely aggressive and competitive in a way that is unfamiliar to others. He often scolds teammates who do not play hard or seriously, as if there are two people living inside him.

In the United States, Petrovic achieved success, winning three championships that made him Croatia's greatest and most popular basketball player. During Croatia's period of independence, he was a national icon.

When preparing for the Barcelona Olympics, his teammates and younger players looked at Petrovic with awe and even admiration. They were very careful in training, afraid of being scolded by Petrovic.

However, Petrovic is no longer as aggressive on the field as he used to be. He seems to be one with himself on and off the field, no longer so divided.

Off the court, he remains as gentle and humble as ever, with a touch of youthful naiveté. On the court, he is calm, quiet, and much more tolerant of his teammates.

When the team makes mistakes, he doesn't scold his teammates, but instead takes the initiative to take responsibility and says he wants to do better.

The head coach was surprised by Petrovic's change. He had been worried that Petrovic would become more erratic and a tyrant on the field after achieving great success and widening the gap with his teammates.

But that wasn't the case. He acted like a true leader, capable of shouldering the responsibilities of captain and guiding young players to grow.

The reason for this is that Petrovic has a true role model and a true leader in his heart, and his every word and action influences everyone on the team.

So much so that without realizing it, you become his shape.

In the group stage match against the Dream Team, Petrovic held his own against the formidable American stars.

Especially in one-on-one confrontations with Michael Jordan, although he was sometimes stripped of the ball and defended, he still responded in kind.

Although he ultimately lost the match, Petrovic lost with his back straight and standing tall; he never felt the slightest bit of fear.

Because whether it was Jordan, Pippen, Robinson, or Barkley, they were all defeated by the Trail Blazers in the NBA.

This psychological advantage will always be with Petrovich; it is an invaluable asset.

However, in the final five minutes of the match against the Chinese team, Petrovic wavered when facing Agam.

He felt a hint of hesitation and fear.

Gan Guoyang made a three-pointer, using a move that is not typical of a center: he stepped back and slid to the outside of the three-point line, and then hit the three-pointer.

He provoked Petrovich, who knew perfectly well that this was his boss's usual psychological warfare tactic.

If you fall for it and try to go head-to-head with Forrest Gump in three-pointers, you might just get turned around and lose.

Croatia's current strategy is to play it safe, steadily maintain their advantage, and run out of time.

But should we really just let the game drag on like this?
Petrovic reminisced about his time with Forrest Gump on the Trail Blazers.

Whenever their king raises the charge, if the opponent retreats, plays defensively, or delays, death is the most likely outcome.

Only those opponents who dare to fight back and give it their all have a chance of victory.

Petrovic controlled the ball, his mind racing.

Should I step forward and be a hero?
Or should we persist in stalling for time and leverage the collective strength?
At this moment, he hesitated, delayed, and struggled.

The heart that had finally come together as one was torn apart once again.

One is mature and composed, like a true leader.

In another aspect, he remains that boy who is crazy about basketball, yearns for victory, and longs to become a hero.

Deep down, he never truly forgot his grand ambition to surpass Forrest Gump and defeat him.

Could this be his chance?
All the thoughts converged in a flash, and in just 0.1 seconds, Petrovich made his choice.

Frankovic was called upon to set a screen for Petrovic, and Gan Guoyang switched onto Petrovic to defend him.

Frankovic moved inside, and Petrovic could have passed the ball, but he didn't. Instead, he suddenly accelerated and tried to break through Gan Guoyang's defense.

Immediately afterwards, he made a sudden stop and launched a mid-range jump shot!

Gan Guoyang's shot was perfect, but the ball still bounced off the backboard and into the basket!

hit!

Petrovic hit a return shot!

Two points, bringing the gap between the two sides back to 9 points.

"Good shot, Pete! But it wasn't a three-pointer."

Gan Guoyang shouted to Petrovich.

Petrovic stayed in the backcourt instead of tracking back, knowing that Agam was going to take the ball and attack himself.

Petrovic began to guard Gan Guoyang one-on-one, as he was familiar with Gan Guoyang's dribbling.

Gan Guoyang advanced with his back to Petrovich, and his speed was indeed slowed down.

Ma Jian came out to receive the ball and passed it to Hu Weidong, whose breakthrough was almost intercepted.

The ball was passed back to Gan Guoyang, who received it and, without making any adjustments, shot directly from a step away from the three-point line!
A very risky and difficult shot. The ball flew very high, drew a strange arc, and then suddenly fell down, and it went in!

With the score at 66:72, the difference had reached 6 points, and the atmosphere in the entire stadium was suffocating.

Sweat streamed down Petrovich's forehead.

He knew that Gan Guoyang was in his prime and no one could stop him.

At this point, what's needed isn't defense, but offense; a response is essential.

Hu Weidong was primarily defending Petrovic, but Petrovic blew past him with a burst of speed.

Hu Weidong followed closely, Petrovic pulled back, and then changed direction to drive into the basket!

Instead of rushing a three-pointer, he drove to the basket, but his floater was contested by Gan Guoyang and missed. Frankovic grabbed the offensive rebound, but Ma Jian quickly knocked the ball out of his hands!

Ma Jian's two defensive plays were crucial.

A chaotic scramble ensued under the basket, and in the end, the referee called a jump ball between Sun Jun and Toni Kukoc.

In a jump ball situation at the free-throw line, Kukoc, with his height advantage, tipped the ball over the goalkeeper.

Petrovic received the ball, positioned just outside the three-point line, took a step back to adjust, and launched a three-pointer!

Goal! 66:75, the score difference is back to 9 points.

Petrovic raised his arms and roared; this shot could be the winning one!
That was a crucial three-pointer; time was running out for the Chinese team.

Jiang Xingquan did not call a timeout. Gan Guoyang signaled for a quick serve, and he dribbled the ball from the backcourt all the way to the frontcourt.

He accelerated to the basket, shoved aside Frankovic, and scored a layup!
The referee blew his whistle and called a foul on Frankovic, awarding him an extra penalty!

This attack took less than 10 seconds.

The Chinese team still retains hope of victory.

Gan Guoyang made the free throw, making it 69-75, still 6 points.

With two minutes remaining in the match, Croatia called a timeout.

During the timeout, Lejubojevic instructed that they must keep a close eye on Agam and play smarter on offense.

"Don't make any rash moves, hold off on the time! Two points, we need to secure two points steadily and give them to the person we're most confident in!"

The coach's strategy was correct. With two minutes left, a six-point lead and possession of the ball, a simple two-pointer or drawing a foul would secure the victory.

No matter how extraordinary Forrest Gump's abilities were, his personal strength was still insufficient to bridge the gap in overall strength and talent between the two sides.

However, Petrovich had a different thought at this moment: was stalling for time and increasing the success rate really useful?
Everyone was exhausted. The Chinese team had dragged them down the entire game, and they were constantly shooting from the outside, with no easy scoring opportunities inside.

But Petrovic wouldn't argue with his coach; he still followed the coach's instructions during the match.

Petrovic received the ball on the sideline, looked up, and saw Gan Guoyang still crouching under the basket like a tiger.

Croatia slowed down, constantly dribbling, moving, cutting, screening, and passing, but China's zone defense remained unmoved.

The ball was passed to Alijan Komarzec on the wing, who ran for an opportunity and took a three-pointer from the wing!
Sun Jun on the outside tried desperately to catch up, but it was too late. If that shot had gone in, Croatia would have won the game.

Alijan Komazec is Croatia's most accurate three-point shooter besides Petrovic.

He made two three-pointers in today's game, making him a very lethal shooter.

However, at the most crucial moment, after shooting from the outside all game, when he had the chance to make a decisive shot, his mentality wavered slightly.

He knew the ball was too short the moment it left his hand, and immediately yelled, "Rebound!"

The Croatian players swarmed around the ball, trying to grab the offensive rebound.

But how could Gan Guoyang let go of this rebound? He single-handedly blocked two Croatian players.

The three men were tangled up together, but Ma Jian managed to grab the rebound!
The Croatian players then surrounded Ma Jian again, prompting Jiang Xingquan to call a timeout.

With just over a minute remaining and a six-point gap, the atmosphere was suffocating, and the Chinese team had to score quickly.

Jiang Xingquan devised a tactic: continue to focus on attacking Gan Guoyang, and ensure that everyone else creates opportunities for him.

"If you can take a three-pointer, take one; if not, take a two-pointer quickly! Don't hesitate, absolutely don't hesitate! Our time is precious, so we must act quickly and without any pressure! We must be fast!"

At this point, Jiang Xingquan's advice was very pertinent: we must be quick. The worst thing is to keep dawdling when the opportunity is not good. The Chinese team has no room for dawdling.

Gan Guoyang was aware of this. After the timeout ended and he returned to the field, he immediately came out to receive the ball, drawing the defensive attention of three Croatian players.

Sun Jun, who was serving, passed the ball to Hu Weidong. Hu Weidong received the ball and broke into the paint without hesitation, drawing a foul from Frankovic on his layup attempt!
Frankovic fouled out, and Hu Weidong stepped up to the free-throw line. Without making any adjustments, he quickly released the ball and made both free throws.

Even Gan Guoyang's heart skipped a beat. Didn't this kid even glance at the camera?
But Hu Weidong just wouldn't aim, because he was severely nearsighted and aiming wouldn't help.

As for any pre-free throw actions, such as dribbling, touching, or dawdling, those don't exist.

He gets the ball, dribbles it briefly, and then throws it; it goes in. That's the kind of confidence he has.

After closing the gap to 4 points, the Chinese team finally took a risk and used a full-court press; they had to seize the opportunity.

With only one minute left, if Croatia manages to score even one goal, or even just one penalty, the Chinese team will be in grave danger.

At this point, Croatia had a very good chance of winning the game. As long as they didn't make any mistakes, no matter how good Gan Guoyang was, he wouldn't be able to turn the tide without possession of the ball and playing time.

However, Croatia, who faced China's zone defense for almost the entire game, panicked when facing China's not-so-good full-court press defense, and they seemed a bit unaccustomed to it.

The serve from the baseline was misplaced and was hit by Adijiang, resulting in the ball being intercepted!

Adijiang, who had control of the ball, did not delay and immediately passed the ball to Gan Guoyang.

Gan Guoyang received the ball near the free-throw line and dribbled one step toward the basket.

Now no one could stop him, and Petrovic shouted, "Don't foul!"

He knew that if you tried to stop him, you wouldn't be able to stop him, and you'd give him a 2+1, adding another point for Forrest Gump.

Gan Guoyang scored with a powerful one-handed dunk, and the Croatian players who tried to stop him all pulled their hands back.

73:75, the score difference is only 2 points.

Both teams have one more attacking opportunity.

If the Chinese team can defend this position, they will have a chance to defeat Croatia decisively.

If Croatia scores this goal, China's chances will be extremely slim.

The Chinese team returned to a zone defense posture, and the two sides engaged in a head-on clash of positional warfare.

Without Frankovic, Croatia's interior height has plummeted.

Both head coaches were so nervous that they paced back and forth on the sidelines.

Jiang Xingquan felt his heart was about to give way, so he grabbed the arm of assistant coach Gong Luming next to him tightly, and Gong Luming was also trembling with nervousness.

The final four are just one step away, in these last few seconds.

As Petrovic dribbled the ball past half-court, hesitation resurfaced in his mind:

He took direct action and became a hero.

Or should we organize the passing game, create opportunities for our teammates, and secure the victory?

Petrovich had not yet grasped one crucial point:

If you hesitate, you will lose!
(End of this chapter)