By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Thomas Walkup in his second season in Olympiacos is not just a fan favorite but the player who makes things happen for the team in any possible way.
And after the win against Baskonia, with the Greeks leading the league with a 4-0 record, he revealed while talking to “Novasports” the ritual that he has before road games with the still injured captain Kostas Papanikolaou: “We are a bit superstitious, so with Kostas, we always drink a cup of coffee together in the airport, before every trip. Now that he was out of this trip, he owes me two cups”.
And it’s obvious that Olympiacos is on a great run. Even without the coffee ritual, the Reds got the road win and Walkup dished eight assists, a personal best with Olympiacos, scored eight points, and had also four rebounds and three steals.
As he added: “We didn’t think that we would win with our offense and by scoring so many points but that’s what we got from Baskonia, and we proved that we know how to win”.
While Olympiacos is tied with Fenerbahce, which also had a 4-0 record, there’s a key difference. Olympiacos did it by getting three road wins in Spain against Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Baskonia, a feat that very few teams have achieved in the history of the competition.
“We faced three great teams of Spanish basketball, in their home court and that may mean several things”, said Walkup explaining that it’s too early for anyone to celebrate in Piraeus: “It’s still October and we have to keep working on the court and in the gym. We are satisfied, but not excited.”