The Ukrainian interior, with a past in the NBA and international with the national team of his country, brings a plus of experience and talent to the young squad.
Viacheslav ‘Slava’ Kravtsov (Odessa, 1987, 2’12 m) is already a new Hestia Menorca player for the 2022/2023 season. The Club has reached an agreement with the Ukrainian player to extend his stay on the Island for the entire season, after having been training with the team for several weeks without his addition to the squad having been confirmed yet.
His performance in the debut with the team for the ‘Ciutat de Maó’ Tournament has attracted a lot of attention from the fans, something that has not surprised the coaching staff or his teammates, who have seen him give a high level during the preparation .
“Slava is a very proven player, with experience and a lot of talent. A very complete interior. In addition to being a great professional, he is a great person and in these 15 days he has led the locker room trying to help all the youngsters to be better players and better professionals. It is lucky to have him in this great family”, says Javi Zamora.
“I am very happy to stay here. This summer I have received several offers around Europe and I declined all of them. Some because I didn’t like the league, others because of the way those teams play… However, when my agent suggested I come to Hestia Menorca, I loved the idea of working with Javi Zamora, after seeing the good work he did this summer in the U17 World Cup”, comments Slava, the brand new signing.
Within the locker room, he is already one of the voices to listen to, due to his experience and seniority, as well as his quality, and for the international ‘five’ with his country it is a real pleasure: “Since I arrived they have welcomed me as one of the family and we all help. I try to give them as much advice as possible as they are all so young, but there is already a lot of potential in them”, adds the player.
‘Slava’, with a past in the NBA, with the Detroit Pistons and the Phoenix Suns, came to Menorca looking for a team with which he could train and maintain his fitness for an uncertain future.
Coming from BC Dnipro, where he was averaging 12.9 points and 5.7 rebounds until the suspension of all sports competitions in the country, his last performances had been with the Ukrainian team, participating 11 minutes last July 4 in the last FIBA qualifying window for the next World Cup, which ended with victory against Montenegro.
At 35 years old, ‘Slava’ has extensive experience in many leagues around the world, such as the Japanese, Turkish, Russian and Chinese, in addition to the aforementioned Ukrainian and American ones. However, Kravtsov knows Spain perfectly. In 2015 he already joined the ranks of the then CAI Zaragoza, the following year he changed the Aragonese capital to go to Valencia Basket, where he was champion of the Endesa League with Pedro Martínez, and, after a year away, he returned to sign first for San Pablo Burgos and later joining the Urbas Fuenlabrada squad in 2018-19.
This is Slava’s first time in Menorca and he believes that it is “the ideal place” for this moment in his life and career: “I have been to several cities in Spain and I have really enjoyed the ACB league, but now I am looking for something more tranquility with my wife and my daughter. Little by little I will get to know the Island”, he concludes.
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Kravtsov is already a new Hestia Menorca player