L’OraSì Basket Ravenna announcing the signature of Illia Tyrtyshnyk. The player, who will occupy the community slot, last year played for Pallacanestro Viola Reggio Calabria in the Interregional Serie B, scoring 22.3 points and helping his team reach the play-offs.
The career of the class of 1998 began in the Ukrainian Super League where, at just 16 years old, he made his debut at BY Kiev where he also participated in the youth championship. In 2016 he moved to the Czech Republic where he played for one year with GBA Sparta Prague, scoring 7.6 points with 48% two-point shooting. At the same time he became the protagonist of the U18 European Championship, helping his team finish second in the entire tournament (Division B).
The following year he began his adventure abroad, first at the University of Mississippi, then at North Plate Community College and finally at the University of Saint Cloud in Minnesota. In 2021 the Ukrainian player returned to Europe, signed a contract and became the captain of Kyiv Basket, where he participated in both the top category of the national championship and the FIBA Eurocup, reaching the quarter-finals of the competition . However, due to the outbreak of war in their homeland, the Ukrainian championship was played first in Switzerland and then in Poland and, as the war continued, all the sponsors who financed the championship were sent back to their homeland when the championship.
For this reason, Tyrtyshnyk, after leading his team to victory in the championship in 2023, was forced to find another team, which is not an easy task given the opportunity. After 4 days of the championship he found a place in Italy, in Viola Reggio Calabria. Despite his late arrival, Illja did not struggle to find his playing dimension, averaging almost 23 points and showing that he belongs in all parts of a superior category: he is the best scorer of all 96 Interregional B teams and MVP, also earned a call to the national team for the World Cup qualifiers.
The first words of Illia: “I am very happy to join Basket Ravenna! For me this category jump represents a very important challenge and I am grateful to the company for giving me this opportunity. I can’t wait to meet the coach and my new teammates. I hope we succeed in our goal to entertain those who come to see us and I hope we make our fans proud.”
Coach’s words Gabrielli: “The signing of Illia is important because it adds talent, especially from an offensive point of view, to a team that in my opinion has a lot of it. He is a player who has already played in Italy last year, very well in Reggio Calabria. When we speak he is very enthusiastic, with a great desire to compete in a higher category. I am sure he will be a useful player, able to help us achieve the goals we set ourselves.”