Walkup was asked whether he'd be interested in joining the Greek national team. The 30-year-old guard laughed and said: "I'm American."
Thomas Walkup was the Olympiacos Piraeus hero in Monday's Greek league game against none other's than Vassilis Spanoulis' team, Peristeri B.C.
The Reds were down one with 14.4 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, but then Walkup took the initiative, nailed a crucial jumper from the two-point zone with 1.4 seconds left on the clock, and paved the way for Olympiacos' 87-86 (22-20, 20-24, 21-18, 24-24) victory over the home team.
Peristeri, coached by Oly legend Vassilis Spanoulis, was the first team since the Dec. 5 Greek league derby vs. Panathinaikos that really threatened Olympiacos to end their incredible run on all domestic fronts (43 straight wins).
"I ran a play but didn't get anything off the first action. The play broke down. I didn't read it properly at first. It was a pick-and-roll from the top and I couldn't pass the ball," Walkup commented on the first part of the last possession.
"Then I saw the game clock, I had to shoot and did that. Luckily the shot went in. It's what the defense gives you in the end," he added.
"Peristeri gave us a great game tonight," he also said. "The most important thing is that we won, but we have a lot of things to learn. Nothing is to be taken for granted. I hope that we keep pushing and we don't do that again."
Then Walkup was asked whether he'd be interested in joining the Greek national team. The 30-year-old guard laughed and said: "I'm American."
Walkup finished the game with 8 points, 8 assists, and 3 steals. Kostas Papanikolaou and Giannoulis Larentzakis had a team-high 13 points each.
"Peristeri played amazingly and they had no pressure. Kudos to them for the effort. We underestimated the opponent and entered a regime of pressure. Peristeri hit big shots to come back. But some players underestimated our game, they should have played with more intensity," coach Georgios Bartzokas said after the match.
Olympiacos: Kostas Papanikolaou 13, Giannoulis Larentzakis 13, Isaiah Canaan 11, Thomas Walkup 8 (8 AST), Tarik Black 8, Sasha Vezenkov 8 (9 REB), Michalis Lountzis 8.
Peristeri: Miro Bilan 20 (6 REB), Sylvain Francisco 16 (5 REB, 9 AST), Dimitris Moraitis 13 (5 REB, 6 AST), Aleksa Radanov 11, Marcus Denmon 10.
Olympiacos Piraeus
Real Madrid
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