Alexander Shashkov is a new member of Cedevita Olimpija

In the coming seasons, the Cedevita Olimpija jersey will be worn by Alexander Shashkov, who we were able to watch in the Ilirija jersey last season, and he took his first steps at a higher level with the Helios Suns from Domžale.

The young, 210-centimeter-tall Alexander Shashkov will help Cedevita Olimpija under both rims in the next three seasons. The latter is the second reinforcement of the Ljubljana team this summer, after the Point Guard, Justus Hollatz, moved to the Dragon’s Nest from Spain.

Alexander Shashkov took his first serious basketball steps with Helios Suns from Domžale in the 2017/18 season. The path then led him to Carpegna Prosciutto Pesaro, CSKA, Nizhny Novgorod, and finally to Ilirija in Ljubljana. Basketball fans may remember that his older brother, Semen Shashkov, already wore the jersey of the then Union Olimpija in the 2016/17 season.

“Alexander Shashkov is a relatively young player who shows a lot of promise and has the potential to jump to a higher level. He grew up in Domžale and is a local player, very talented, but he had a lot of bad luck with injuries in his career. Last season he was able to show a little bit of his potential for Ilirija, he had a very good season, and moving to Cedevita Olimpija is the best possible move for him and he will definitely do his best with the rest of his teammates,” said Cedevita Olimpija’s Sports Director, Vlado Ilievski, upon signing the contract with Shashkov.

“Just like Justus Hollatz, Shashkov is also a young player, but his situation is a bit different than Hollatz’s, because he doesn’t have that much experience due to a lot of injuries in the past. We hope that these problems are behind him. I know him from a young age, when I was in Milano, and I think that Cedevita Olimpija is the right place for him to reach his potential,” Dragons head coach Simone Pianigiani said on the addition of Shashkov to the list of players.

“I’m very happy and grateful for the opportunity from Cedevita Olimpija, as I want to prove myself at the level, that I always wanted to play. I can’t wait to meet my new teammates, and to start the preperations for the new season,” said Alexander Shashkov on joining the Dragon’s squad.

In the 2022/23 season, Shashkov was the best scorer and jumper of Ilirija in the Slovenian national championship. He averaged 14.1 points and 7.2 rebounds, and he showed his best performance of the season against the Helios Suns on May 5, when he scored 32 points and grabbed 16 rebounds.