Mateusz Ponitka

Early years

Ponitka started playing basketball in UKS Kasprowiczanka Ostrow Wielkopolski, before moving in 2009 to AZS Warsaw University of Technology. In his first season as a professional player, he appeared in 27 games of the Polish 2nd-tier League, averaging 7.1 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 18 minutes per game. He also appeared in four games of the Polish Cup, averaging 9 points per game. In September 2010, Ponitka took part in the Basketball Without Borders camp, held in Barcelona. He was named the MVP of the camp.

In the 2010–11 season, he had bigger role in the team, which reflected on his stats. In April 2011, he took part in Nike Hoop Summit held in Portland, Oregon. He was the leading scorer of the World Select Team with 17 points in a 92–80 loss to the USA Team. Over the season, he averaged 11.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.6 steals over 34 games. His team eventually won the championship, this way promoting to the Polish League in the following season.

In the 2011–12 season, due to his good performances, he was voted for the Polish League All-Star game with the most votes. In the game, he was the third scorer in his team with 13 points. In his final season with AZS Warsaw University of Technology, he averaged 13.6 points and 4.6 rebounds.

Asseco Prokom

On March 27, 2012, Ponitka signed a three-year deal with the Polish team Asseco Prokom. He also had an option to leave the team after two seasons. In the new team, his minutes were very limited, and the player had the averages of 2.6 points and 1.4 rebounds for the rest of the season. However, his team won the Polish League championship, by defeating Trefl Sopot with 78-67 in the final series. In the 2012–13 season, his role in the team increased, as he averaged 8.6 points and 4.2 rebounds per game over the season. He also played in the EuroLeague, averaging 8.8 points and 3.5 rebounds over 10 games.

Telenet Oostende

On August 4, 2013, he signed a three-year contract with the Belgian team Telenet Oostende. In the 2013–14 season, his team won the Belgian League championship.

He went undrafted in the 2015 NBA draft.

Zielona Góra

On August 4, 2015, he signed a contract with the Polish team Stelmet Zielona Góra. Ponitka was named the EuroCup Rising Star of the 2015–16 season.

Pınar Karşıyaka

On August 8, 2016, he signed a two-year deal with Turkish club Pınar Karşıyaka.

National team

Ponitka was part of the Poland U-17 national basketball team which took the silver medal at the 2010 FIBA Under-17 World Championship held in Germany. In the final game he scored 14 points against the United States, but his team lost by huge margin, 111–80. He played against athletes like Bradley Beal, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, James Michael McAdoo, Andre Drummond, Quinn Cook, Marquis Teague and others. He was named All-Tournament team .

In 2011, he was part of the U-18 team which took sixth place at the 2011 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship held in Poland. Over 9 tournament games, he averaged 15.3 points and 7.6 assists per game.

He officially debuted for the senior national team on August 3, 2012 in the friendly game against Montenegro. Even he played for nearly 23 minutes, he scored just 4 points. He was a member of the team at the 2013 FIBA EuroBasket held in Slovenia. He averaged 3.6 points and 1.4 rebounds over 5 tournament games.

Career statistics

Note: The EuroLeague is not the only competition in which the player participated for the team during the season. He also played in domestic competition, and regional competition if applicable.