By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
By heavily losing to Lithuania, Greece lost its chances to advance to the quarterfinal stage of the 2023 FIBA World Cup, even though Thomas Walkup had statistically the best outing of the tournament.
Olympiacos playmaker scored 21 points with eight rebounds and seven assists, but it wasn’t enough, as Lithuania crushed the dreams of Greece in the final quarter. However, Walkup is grateful for the opportunity given, even though his first stint with the National Team won’t have a happy ending.
“I made shots, but we were out of rhythm in the second half, and I can’t say I was stellar by any means. I had us out of rhythm, and the scoring stopped. With that being said, the opportunity that has been provided to me by the Greek National Team is extremely, extremely special,” Walkup said after the game and took responsibility for the loss.
He was a standout performer as a naturalized player with the Greek national team at the World Cup, averaging the team’s highest PIR of 16 so far, but also spending the most minutes on the court, with 30.9 per game.
Still, he assures that the loss to Lithuania can’t be blamed on fatigue.
“It wasn’t a matter of being tired, but we were out of rhythm, and that is my fault, so, it is what it is,” Walkup concluded.
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The US guard with a Greek passport still has one more game to play at the World Cup, but even a win against Montenegro won’t do much good for Dimitris Itoudis’ squad, as well as for Bosko Radovic’s crew since both teams are out of contention for the quarterfinals. Lithuania and the USA remain unreachable with perfect 4-0 scores.
Photo: fiba.basketball