THE SEOUL GAMES : Notes : Soviet Center Sabonis Is Practicing in Seoul; Coach Says He Will Play

Arvydas has landed. Arvydas Sabonis, the Soviet Union’s long-absent center and the wild card in the men’s basketball competition, is here, and walking, and even practicing with his teammates for the first time in two years.

Does that mean he’ll actually play, when the Soviets open Sunday night against Yugoslavia?

“That’s my problem,” Soviet Coach Alexander Gomelsky said.

Were Sabonis sound, it would create problems for more people than his coach. The 7-foot 3-inch, 270-pound Sabonis is a first-round draft choice of the Portland Trail Blazers, who put him in a rehabilitation program for his twice-ruptured Achilles’ tendon last winter in Oregon.

U.S. Coach John Thompson was horrified at that, and the Trail Blazers are now horrified that Sabonis would jeopardize his progress by returning to competition so quickly.

“Sabonis is OK,” Gomelsky said Saturday. “He play this competition.

“He has a long-time stop, 18 months, no practice. But Sabonis is Sabonis. This is great talent. Psychology (of the) team much better when he play. I think is OK.”

Gomelsky had previously suggested that Sabonis might sit out the preliminary round--the Soviets are practically assured of making the medal round--and then playing in the big games. That would, of course, pose its own problems, but then the Soviets depend less on precision and execution than their sheer size and great shooting ability.

The Soviets are used to overwhelming height advantages, but without Sabonis, they’ve had a hole at center. Their starter, 7-0 Alexander Belostenny, is a journeyman. The young 6-11 Valery Goborov looks promising to Westerners, but Gomelsky doesn’t seem as high on him. In Gomelsky’s mind, centers need to be taller than 6-11.

The Soviets are generally considered the leading threat to U.S. domination. Actually, without Sabonis, they Soviets are merely on a par with Yugoslavia. The Yugoslavs led the Soviets by 15 points in the European qualifying tournament before folding. The Yugoslavs then beat the Soviets twice in exhibitions in August.

You’re Not Heavy, You’re Our Brothers:

Remember the howl that foreign teams put up at what they considered home-team decisions by the boxing judges at Los Angeles?

The U.S. team here is openly worried that it’s now going to get homered in retaliation.

Not to worry, said the same South Korean official who threatened to pull his team out of Los Angeles.

He’s Kim Jip, a national assemblyman who is the chief of mission for the South Korean Olympic team. In ‘84, he was incensed enough to warn: “You know, the next Olympics is in Seoul. Maybe Korea will win 11 medals.”

He says he’s not mad anymore, though.

Maybe it was the four years off. Maybe he thinks what goes around is just about to come around.

“You (Americans) are our older brothers,” Kim told Greg Logan of Newsday. “I will try very hard to help you get fair decisions.

“In boxing, it’s very subjective. When it’s 50-50, we should get some favor. So should the countries on the side of freedom.

“We have to have some favor. Otherwise, why are we hosting the Olympics? (Tapping his chest) This is my turf, my home ground.”

There, wasn’t that reassuring?

Obviously, the Americans don’t have as much to worry about as, say, the Soviets.

On the other hand, if you’re from Detroit or Atlanta and you find yourself in the ring with a South Korean, better to knock him out.

What’s the difference between the U.S. men’s and women’s basketball teams?

The men are overpowering favorites who chafe at the pressure of having to win every game or face national disgrace. Obviously warned to keep their own counsel, they say they’re taking them one at a time, and little more.

The women showed up at a press conference Friday wearing T-shirts that said: “Sole Goal Seoul Gold.”

Coach Kay Yow then went on a rap about how this team didn’t consider itself the favorite, overwhelming or otherwise.

But how about the T-shirts?

“Those are a gift to us,” Yow said. “I want you to understand, we’re not saying we’re any better than anybody else. We have come here with a sole goal, not to mess around, not to get distracted, go here, go there.

“We would love to be tourists, go out and visit all the wonderful things in Seoul. But that’s not why we’re here on this visit.”

Oh.

For the record, the U.S. women’s two victories over the Soviet Union, in Moscow, in the 1986 World Games and Friendship Games, make them the favorite.

The security system, recently judged top-notch by a visiting U.S. expert, is not only thorough, but unobtrusive.

How unobtrusive?

The South Koreans have little smiling faces painted on the signs in front of checkpoints, asking for fans’ patience. They have the metal detectors in front of the stadium bedecked with flowers and vines.

Chang Fen-Hwa of Taiwan, admitted to the Olympic Village medical center Saturday night after suffering a slight heart attack, was released early Sunday morning and returned to the Athletes Village, officials said.

A spokesman for the medical center said Chang’s condition was not serious and that she might be able to compete in the 400-meter hurdles, scheduled for next Saturday.

The 5-5, 123-pound Chang was the 1987 Taiwan college champion at 400 meters. Her best time in the 400-meter hurdles is 58.62 seconds, almost 6 seconds off the world record.

U.S. soccer star Paul Caliguri of Diamond Bar narrowly escaped serious injury Thursday when a car in which he was a passenger flipped over en route from Seoul to Taegu. Doug Newman, a team administrator, however, required 20 stitches.

Arlene Limas, a student at DePaul University, expressed hope her gold medal in the demonstration sport taekwondo will spur U.S. interest in a sport that Koreans have appreciated for more than 2,000 years.

Limas scored a surprising victory late Saturday night over local favorite Kim Ji Sook in the Korean national sport.

Ten of Limas’ relatives were in attendance, and her fiance was waving a flag during the medal ceremony. The tape of the national anthem malfunctioned, but the Americans would not let that spoil Limas’ moment. Limas and many in the crowd began singing the lyrics as the flags were raised. When the tape finally did start, Limas and her followers started over and sang the anthem again.

“That’s just like Americans to come through like that,” Limas said.

U.S. welterweight Jay Warwick, of Bozeman, Mont., was knocked out in the first round of his semifinal taekwondo match by Chung Kook-hyun of South Korea and later said he will retire.

“This was it for me,” Warwick said. “I’m retiring from the sport. I’ll stay in coaching and be involved in the sport, but now I’ll go to work for Godfather Pizza. They’ve supported me throughout this time, and now it’s time to pay them back.”

Frenchman Henri Leconte, whose appearance in the Olympic tennis tournament had been in doubt, will take part, organizers said Sunday.

Leconte, who will be one of the top seeded players here, played in the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona last week, raising speculation that he would not come to Seoul.

Leconte, ranked 12th in the world, was expected to reach Sunday’s final of the Spanish event but was knocked out in the quarterfinals by Sweden’s Magnus Gustafsson.

“He is on a plane to Seoul and on his way,” International Tennis Federation Olympic coordinator Debbie Jarrett said Sunday.