NOVEL NEXT Chapter 35: Win
The weather forecast was mostly accurate; on June 15th, it started raining in Portland.
The consecutive losses of Reggie Lewis and Dražen Petrović shocked and stunned the entire city, the NBA, and the basketball world.
The pattering rain felt like the tears of the city; citizens couldn't believe that such tragedies would happen one after another.
The finals were postponed indefinitely, an unprecedented occurrence in the history of professional sports in North America.
A shroud of deathly gray covered Portland, the Trail Blazers' fan hotline was flooded, the entrance of the Rose Garden Arena was covered with flowers and candles, and TV stations continuously broadcasted reports of the two tragedies.
Everyone in the Trail Blazers was going through possibly the toughest time of their professional careers.
Jerry West took the lead in forming a bereavement committee to handle the affairs related to Lewis and Petrović.
This legendary star, usually cold and serious with a wealth of experience, unusually showed his vulnerability to the public.
At the press conference, West, unable to control his emotions, choked up at several points and announced the causes of the two men's deaths with reddened eyes.
Preliminary investigations revealed that Reggie Lewis caught a cold virus that triggered myocarditis during a game, leading to an acute myocardial infarction and his death after ineffective resuscitation.
The Trail Blazers had previously identified Lewis's heart problem, but he was undergoing conservative treatment and had planned to have surgery in the summer.
No one expected him to fall ill suddenly during the finals, resulting in tragedy.
Meanwhile, Petrović, after Lewis's death, went out with his girlfriend and friends to unwind but got into a traffic accident on the way.
A truck in the opposite lane improperly changed lanes to overtake, causing their vehicle to avoid it and overturn; his girlfriend and the friend in the backseat only sustained minor injuries, but Petrović was thrown out of the car because he wasn't wearing a seatbelt, dying instantly.
According to his girlfriend, Petrović was curled up asleep in the passenger seat at the time, with no preparation or reaction to the accident.
West also announced that the team would hold memorial services for the two within three days.
Afterwards, their remains would be sent back to their respective hometowns for burial.
After announcing the related information to the public, the harder part was facing their loved ones.
Gan Guoyang took on this incredibly daunting task.
He accompanied and comforted Lewis's wife and mother, personally going to the airport to meet Petrović's family.
Petrović's mother hugged Gan Guoyang and cried for half an hour upon seeing him.
Gan Guoyang couldn't utter a single word; there was nothing he could do.
For teammates and fans, the pain of their departure will one day fade over time.
But for their closest family, it is a scar that can never heal in a lifetime.
On June 17th, their memorial services were held at the Rose Garden Arena.
Friends from the basketball community, notable Portland figures, their family and friends, and many ordinary fans came to the scene.
The ticket revenue from the memorial service would be used as a relief fund for their families, supporting their parents and children.
Many fans gathered outside the stadium, holding Lewis's and Petrović's No. 35 and 44 jerseys, bidding farewell to the two.
Gan Guoyang, speaking as a player representative, this man of steel, struggled to hold back tears.
He had hardly slept in the past few days; he was continuously busy, unable to let himself stop, needing to keep doing things.
The only thing he hadn't done was play basketball — something he had rarely paused in the past 12 years.
The memorial lasted longer than expected; people were reluctant to end it and leave, as if this could avoid accepting the reality of their departure.
Gan Guoyang raised Petrović's and Lewis's jerseys to the ceiling of the arena, letting them float alongside the team's championship banners.
Where Lewis fell, the floor had been replaced, and inscribed on the new floor were Lewis's jersey number and his life story.
Looking up at the two jerseys swaying in the arena sky, Gan Guoyang still felt dazed, as if all this was just a dream.
"If only it were truly a dream; waking up to find them still here…" this thought uncontrollably rose in his mind.
Not only Gan Guoyang thought this, but also the Trail Blazers players who were close to Petrović and Lewis.
Especially head coach Bobby Beelman; the consecutive losses intensely impacted his nerves, leading him to be hospitalized.
Eventually, the rain slowly stopped; by June 18th, Petrović's and Lewis's remains were taken out of Portland.
Petrović returned to Croatia, where the entire nation mourned for him, and a grand state funeral would be held.
Lewis was sent back to his hometown of Baltimore, Maryland, buried in a small cemetery with a simple tombstone engraved with his No. 35 jersey and the words, "Here lies a great but ordinary basketball player (1965-1993)."
The world doesn't stop for anyone's departure.
Yet the Trail Blazers felt utterly depleted.
They couldn't train together, nor even gather in one place.
Because whenever they came together, Lewis and Petrović would be mentioned, and then the tears would start.
The finals were rescheduled to start on June 24th; on the 23rd, Jerry West forcibly summoned the players to train.
The training site moved from Willamette University to the Portland Community College basketball gym, the old training ground the Trail Blazers used before 1990.