Zenit St Petersburg announced it signed a new contract with forward Mateusz Ponitka, which ties the two sides together for another three seasons. Ponitka (1.98 meters, 27 years old) has spent the past two years with Zenit and has helped the team make history last season reaching the EuroLeague Playoffs, where Zenit as an eight-seed was ousted in five games against the eventual runner-up FC Barcelona. However, Ponitka missed the playoffs due to an injury. Ponitka did not miss a single game during the regular season and averaged 8.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists while starting in 26 games. He debuted in the EuroLeague as a teenager with Asseco Prokom Gdynia of his native Poland in 2012, and later played for Stelmet Zielona Gora in the 2015-16 campaign. Later that season, Ponitka led Zielona Gora to the EuroCup Quarterfinals and was named the EuroCup Rising Star and to the All-EuroCup Second Team. Ponitka has also played for Ostend in Belgium, Pinar Karsiyaka in Turkey, Iberostar Tenerife in Spain and Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar in Russia. He’s a member of the Polish national team, too.
