Photo: FIBA

Poland stunned the basketball world at the FIBA EuroBasket 2022 Quarter-Finals, toppling Slovenia in a performance that no one saw coming.

With Luka Doncic and Goran Dragic leading the defending European champions, Slovenia entered the game as heavy favorites. Analysts were already predicting their Semi-Final path, yet it was Poland’s Mateusz Ponitka who rewrote the script.

Ponitka erupted for 26 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 assists, leading his team to a 90-87 victory and recording only the third triple-double in FIBA EuroBasket history.

By following in the footsteps of Toni Kukoc in 1995 and Romania’s Andrei Mandache in 2017, Poland ended a 50-year wait to reach the Semi-Finals.

“Without Ponitka, we wouldn’t have achieved anything that we have done in the last years. He’s the leader everybody wants,” Aleksander Balcerowski told FIBA.

“In the last years, I can’t remember anything like this. The moment, the kind of stage it was, the pressure, everything. To pull up and play a game like this, I think it was one of the best, if not the best, performances of anybody playing for the Polish national team.”

Head coach Igor Milicic, who has guided the Polish team since 2021 and has a long-standing connection to the country, agreed.

“I think that’s definitely the best performance of a Polish player,” he said. “Also, that game in Poland is known as the best team game in the last 50 years. We are proud of it.”

Ponitka himself prefers to focus on the present rather than dwell on the past.

“Many people ask me about this; wherever I go, they always remember and come back to this game,” he said. “Personally, I don’t think about it. But as the game approaches, I remind myself of it, of the whole situation that we were in, the amazing atmosphere. Back then, it was crazy.”

As Thursday’s rematch approaches, Ponitka is focused on the new challenge.

“We keep our emotions from 2022 in Berlin, where they belong right now. [Thursday’s game] is going to be a totally different game, the teams and surroundings are different. Many players made progress, and many players got older. We try to approach it with this mentality. We try to start the tournament strong, and that’s our goal,” he said.

Playing at home in a packed Spodek Arena in Katowice adds another layer of significance. Ponitka recalls cheering for Poland as a child at FIBA EuroBasket 2009, understanding what it means to represent his country in front of passionate fans.

“When you’re a kid, your dream is to play at home, with your fans, in a situation where you can all team up against opponents on the basketball court. It’s the biggest stage, one of the biggest in the world,” he said. “It hits you that you are representing the whole country, who unite to see us competing.”

Milicic is confident that Ponitka will again inspire the crowd.

“He has an extreme winning character with a work ethic that is top of the line. He’s a role model for young kids to experience how the stars are rising,” the coach said. “This is not pure talent. This is a lot of work that he puts into that, and then a big reward comes after that hard work.”

Ponitka’s drive has been shaped by past inspirations, from Milos Teodosic’s long-distance dagger at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2010 to Pau Gasol’s scoring spree at EuroBasket 2015.

“I like to be challenged,” Ponitka said. “I don’t like it when everything is nice, smooth, and easy. It doesn’t give me this adrenaline. This is a great challenge for me, and I always love the opportunity.”

Thursday’s rematch is expected to be intense, and with Ponitka leading the team and support from the home crowd, Poland aims to repeat their 2022 success and advance in EuroBasket with focus and determination.

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