Panathinaikos Athens did not have a start to the new Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season at is hoped for, but one of its bright spots has certainly been forward Mateusz Ponitka. In a role coming off the bench, Ponitka has been averaging a team-high performance index rating of 15.7.
A late-September addition to the team, this versatile 29-year old forward has been posting 9.3 points per game, while being a team leader in rebounding (5.7 rpg.) and second in assists (3.5 apg.).
These are some of the best numbers for Ponitka, who is in his sixth season in the competition. While his assists average is on pace to be a career high, the only time he averaged more points in rebounds in a single season was seven years ago when in 10 regular season games for Zielona Gora of his native Poland he posted 12.0 points and 7.9 rebounds.
Ponitka spent the previous three season with Zenit St Petersburg, and compared to last season he has almost doubled his scoring, and nearly double his averaged PIR, having improved his numbers in rebounding, assists and steals.
Ponitka has been especially productive in the last three games, scoring 12 points and accumulating a PIR of at least 17 in each of those games.
He had 10 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal in Round 4 against AS Monaco, then posted 5 assists, 4 rebounds and 1 steal against Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv, before finishing with 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals against Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade in Round 6.
Ponitka will look to continue with his strong performances on Friday when Panathinaikos welcomes Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz, however, hoping that his performance finally helps the Greens to a victory.
