By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Back to the Basketball Champions League, Giorgos Tsalmpouris joins Surne Bilbao midway through the Round of 16.
Tsalmpouris, 26, penned a contract for the remainder of the 2022-23 season, the team announced Sunday.
The Basque Country outfit recently ruled out Jeff Withey for the next two months. Scanning the market for a suitable replacement and a new center option for head coach Jaume Ponsarnau, the international player with Greece landed in Bilbao.
Split between the 2016-17 and 2018-19 campaigns, the former center of Iowa State logged 20 games played in the BCL as a member of AEK. His stint at the Queen additionally included winning the 2019 FIBA Intercontinental Cup. Apollon, PAOK, and Kolossos H Hotels shaped more experience in the Basket League, Greece’s top-tier division.
Moving his talents to Spain’s Liga Endesa to start the ongoing season, Tsalmpouris produced 8.8 points shooting over 40% from beyond the arc and 2.9 rebounds per game for Real Betis. A solid campaign stretching to the international level and representing Greece in both international windows of the 2022-23 season. Before helping his country qualify for the 2023 FIBA World Cup, he debuted at the senior level competing in the 2022 EuroBasket Qualifiers.
Sitting at 1-2 with three games remaining in the double-legged round-robin schedule, Ponsarnau’s side trails ACB rivals Lenovo Tenerife and UCAM Murcia in Group L of the Champions League Round of 16. The 9-11 run at the domestic level is one game shy of the Liga Endesa Playoffs zone.
Photo Credit: FIBA.BASKETBALL