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20 November, 2017
26 February, 2019
5 Aaron Cel (POL), 9 Mateusz Ponitka (POL)
14/02/2018
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Poland's Ponitka targets "must-win" games against Kosovo, Hungary

SAN CRISTOBAL DE LA LAGUNA (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers) - Mateusz Ponitka of Poland has called this month's Qualifiers against Kosovo and Hungary must-win games if the national team wants to be a major factor in the hunt for a spot at the 32-team World Cup.

In their first two Qualifiers in November, Poland claimed a home win over Hungary before losing at Lithuania.

"I think these two are the most important," Ponitka said to FIBA.basketball. "We have to win against Kosovo at home, there is no question, and we have to win against Hungary away if we want not just to advance from the group, but if we want to do something bigger in the Second Round.

"I think this should be our goal and I will push my team to do this."

Poland qualified for FIBA EuroBasket 2015 and then made it to the Round of 16, where eventual champions Spain knocked them out. Last year, Poland endured some close defeats at the EuroBasket in Helsinki and did not advance from the Group Phase.

Ponitka did, however, remind everyone of how much talent he has, pouring in 22 points and corralling 13 rebounds on opening day against Slovenia, the team that ended up winning the title.

Poland had mixed results in the World Cup Qualifiers in November.

Ponitka had 17 points and 7 rebounds in Poland's first game at home to Hungary. They came from 11 points down to win the Group C clash, 70-60.

But then in Klaipeda against Lithuania, with Ponitka carrying a knock from the win over Hungary, the Baltic side won, 75-55. 

For that reason, Ponitka was glad that he had a chance to return to Klaipeda to play again, albeit with his club side Iberostar Tenerife, on February 6 in the Basketball Champions League.

Ponitka had wanted to get rid of the bad taste in his mouth from his first trip there with Poland. He tore apart Neptunas Klaipeda, finishing with 24 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. He claimed a spot on Gameday 14 Team of the Week.

"I was feeling good," Ponitka said. "I was ready to play. I had lost the last time I had been there with the national team by 20 points, so it was kind of redemption to go there for me."

Before going up against Neptunas in the Basketball Champions League, he said, his national team coach, Mike Taylor, even called. 


Ponitka had 17 points and 7 rebounds in a come-from-behind win over Hungary

"He asked if I had unfinished business and I said, 'Yes. I really wanted to win there,'" Ponitka said. "I tried to do my best (against Neptunas). I didn't look at my stats. When I was open, I shot. When I had a chance to drive, I did. I just tried to help my team."

"IT DOESN'T MATTER IF IT'S DURING THE YEAR, OR DURING THE SUMMER, FOR ME THE NATIONAL TEAM, IT'S NOT A DUTY BUT MORE OF A PLEASURE. WHEN I WAS YOUNG AND STARTED PLAYING, I PROMISED MYSELF I WOULD NEVER TRY TO AVOID THE NATIONAL TEAM NO MATTER WHAT" PonitkaPonitka

After this weekend's Copa del Rey, with Iberostar Tenerife set to take on Valencia in the Quarter-Finals on Thursday, Ponitka will turn his focus back to Poland and their World Cup Qualifiers campaign. He will feel a sense of urgency, he says, and will expect everyone else to as well. 

"It doesn't matter what happens on the court," he said. "Sometimes we win, sometimes we lose, but we have to stay humble, have a good attitude especially in these types of games."

It's easy to see why Taylor, even with Ponitka not 100 percent, played him as much as he did against Lithuania. He was on the court for just under 19 minutes. The 24-year-old always plays hard and smart. He does a little bit of everything to help his teams win, even on those nights when his shots are not falling.

"When you're playing well and you score 20 points, it's easy," Ponitka said. "If the game is not in your hands, if you start bad, the only way for you to stay on the court is to do something better, with defense, rebounds or get steals, or give assists or give some energy, to do something and not just go coast through the game.

Ponitka is all smiles when he rejoins his Poland teammates

"This is the most dangerous thing, if you go into the game with a bad mentality, then you get injured and 90 percent of the time it's like this."

Ponitka says he likes the World Cup Qualifiers competition system. He looks forward to getting together with his Poland teammates.

"It doesn't matter if it's during the year, or during the summer, for me the national team, it's not a duty but more of a pleasure," he said. "When I was young and started playing, I promised myself I would never try to avoid the national team no matter what. If you really want to play, you always find a way.

"For me, I went through all the stages, U15, U16, U19, U20, then the senior team. I will always enjoy it and I hope we can do something good in a few years, to build something. I think in national team camps, during the whole summers, we are working very hard and at some point, life will give us what we deserve to get."

"WE HAVE TO WIN AGAINST KOSOVO AT HOME, THERE IS NO QUESTION, AND WE HAVE TO WIN AGAINST HUNGARY AWAY IF WE WANT NOT JUST TO ADVANCE FROM THE GROUP, BUT IF WE WANT TO DO SOMETHING BIGGER IN THE SECOND ROUND. I THINK THIS SHOULD BE OUR GOAL AND I WILL PUSH MY TEAM TO DO THIS" PonitkaPonitka

Ponitka likes the new competition system for another reason. He likes the change of scenery.

"It's always fun, first of all, to meet with the friends and the players I used to play with, and now we're on different teams," he said. "It's always good to take a break from the place you are in.

"You're here (in Tenerife), it's nice, the life is good, but you know everywhere it's basketball. You have practice, you have some treatment, it's always basketball here in Spain. And then you go for a week a totally different surroundings, totally different climate and you can step aside, relax. Of course there is also some hard work to do in the national team, but it's different. So it's always nice to change something from time to time."

FIBA