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.
