Igor Nesterenko ( he, איגור נסטרנקו; born August 18, 1990) is an Israeli-Ukrainian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for Maccabi Rishon LeZion of the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl ( he, ליגת העל, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is the top-tier level league of professional sports, professional competition in Israeli sports club, club basketball, making ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

Early life

Nesterenko was born in

Kiliya Kiliia or Kilia ( uk, Кілія́, translit=Kiliia, ; ro, Chilia Nouă) is a town in Izmail Raion, Odesa Oblast of southwestern Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Kiliia urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Kiliia is located in t ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

, to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family. Nesterenko lived his first three years in Ukraine before growing up in

Rishon LeZion Rishon LeZion ( he, רִאשׁוֹן לְצִיּוֹן , ''lit.'' First to Zion, Arabic: راشون لتسيون) is a city in Israel, located along the central Israeli coastal plain south of Tel Aviv. It is part of the Gush Dan metropolitan ar ...

. He played for the Maccabi Rishon LeZion youth team and the Gymnasia Realit high school team.

Professional career

In 2008, Nesterenko started his professional career with Maccabi Rishon LeZion. On November 1, 2008, he made his professional debut in a match against

Maccabi Haifa Maccabi Haifa ( he, מכבי חיפה) is one of the biggest sports clubs in Israel and a part of the Maccabi association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Haifa which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as Football ...

. In his fourth season with Rishon LeZion, Nesterenko was loaned to Elitzur Yavne of the

Liga Leumit Liga Leumit ( he, ליגה לאומית, lit. ''National League'') is the second division of the Israeli Football League, and below its Premier League. Structure There are 16 clubs in the league. At the end of each season, the two lowest-place ...

. In his seventh season, Nesterenko helped Rishon LeZion reach the 2015 Israeli League Semifinals, where they eventually were eliminated by

Hapoel Jerusalem Hapoel Jerusalem is a sport organization in Jerusalem as a local branch of the Hapoel movement. The branch was established in the 1920s and represents the city in more sports than any other sport organization in Jerusalem. Today, the club's leadi ...

. On August 17, 2015, Nesterenko signed a one-year deal with

Ironi Nes Ziona Ironi Ness Ziona B.C. (or spelled as Ironi Nes Ziona B.C.) is a professional basketball club based in Ness Ziona, Israel. The team plays its home games at the Lev Hamoshava, which has capacity for 1,200 people. The club plays in the Israeli Bask ...

. On July 5, 2016, Nesterenko signed with

Ironi Nahariya Ironi Nahariya Basketball Club ( he, מועדון הכדורסל עירוני נהריה; ) known for sponsorship reasons as Ironi Rain Nahariya () is a professional basketball club based in city of Nahariya in northern Israel. The team plays in t ...

for the 2016–17 season. Nesterenko helped Nahariya reach the 2017 Israeli League Quarterfinals, as well as reaching the 2017 FIBA Europe Cup Quarterfinals, where they eventually were eliminated by

Telekom Baskets Bonn Telekom Baskets Bonn, also known as Baskets Bonn, is a German professional basketball club that is based in Bonn, Germany. The club plays in the Basketball Bundesliga, which is German basketball league system, the highest level pro basketball le ...

. On July 23, 2017, Nesterenko signed a two-year contract extension with Ironi Nahariya. On January 3, 2018, Nesterenko recorded a career-high 20 points, shooting 7-of-8 from the field, along with four rebounds and three assists in a 90–98 loss to

Hapoel Holon Hapoel Holon Basketball Club ( he, מועדון הכדורסל הפועל חולון), known for sponsorship reasons as Hapoel Atsmon Playgrounds Holon (), is a professional basketball club based in Holon, Israel. The team plays in the Israeli B ...

. In 33 games played during the 2017–18 season, he averaged 7.2 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. On September 8, 2019, Nesterenko joined

Hapoel Haifa Hapoel Haifa Football Club ( he, מועדון הכדורגל הפועל חיפה, ''Moadon HaKaduregel Hapoel Haifa'') is an Israeli football club located in the city of Haifa. The club won one championship (1998–99) and 4 Israeli cups ( ...

of the

Israeli National League Liga Leumit ( he, ליגה לאומית, lit. ''National League'') is the second division of the Israeli Football League, and below its Premier League. Structure There are 16 clubs in the league. At the end of each season, the two lowest-place ...

, signing a one-year deal with an option for another one.

References

External links

RealGM profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nesterenko, Igor 1990 births Living people Centers (basketball) Hapoel Haifa B.C. players Ironi Nahariya players Ironi Nes Ziona B.C. players Israeli Basketball Premier League players Israeli Jews Israeli men's basketball players Maccabi Rishon LeZion basketball players Ukrainian emigrants to Israel Ukrainian Jews Ukrainian men's basketball players Sportspeople from Rishon LeZion