Anton Aleksandrovich Ponkrashov is a professional basketball player of the UNICS club. Champion of Europe (2007) and winner of several bronze medals from world championships. After a successful performance at the Olympics in 2012, he received the title of Honored Master of Sports.
Childhood
Anton Ponkrashov was born in Leningrad in 1986. The boy's parents were professional athletes. Father had the title of master of sports in rowing, basketball and swimming. And my mother was engaged exclusively in rowing. So the love of sports was instilled in Anton from childhood. Until the age of seven, the boy was engaged only in swimming, but then switched to basketball. From 2001 to 2004, Ponkrashov Jr. played for the Conti and Pulkovo teams in St. Petersburg. In 2005, Anton received a foot injury and was operated on. Recovery lasted one month. Despite this, Ponkrashov was recognized as the best young basketball player of the Russian Championship 2004/2005 season. Then the athlete was offered to go to the Spartak team, for which he played only 4 matches. Then the club started having financial problems.
CSKA (2006-2007)
In 2006, Anton Ponkrashov signed a contract with CSKA and moved to Moscow. Despite the strong team, the basketball player was not lost on the court, showing a stable level of play. And in some championships he held a leading position. Ponkrashov’s game was unstable only in Euroleague matches. In 2007, CSKA sent him a three-year lease at BC Khimki.
Khimki (2007-2009)
In this team, Anton Ponkrashov immediately became a leading player. He was particularly distinguished in the Euroleague match against Pamesa from Valencia. The athlete scored the decisive ball 3 seconds before the end of the game. Also, the basketball player helped the team at the Cup of Russia in 2008. In the decisive match against the army, he scored 16 points, thereby ensuring “Khimki” the winning trophy.
CSKA (2009-2010)
After the lease expired, Anton Ponkrashov returned to CSKA again and immediately had a successful match against Olimpia in the Euroleague. The athlete made 4 rebounds and scored 10 points. Despite a number of successful games, the coach did not include Ponkrashov in the main team. Anton sat on the bench until the end of the contract. Then the basketball player signed a two-year agreement with Spartak.
Spartak (2010-2011)
As soon as Anton arrived at the club’s location, the head coach immediately invited him to his place. Zvi Sherf invited Ponkrashov to lead the team and become a link between the coach, players and the club management. The first three matches of the season made Anton the best player of the month, according to Sport Express readers. On average, an athlete made 5 assists per game and scored 11 points. Toward the end of the season, Ponkrashov terminated the contract with Spartak and returned to CSKA. This was due to the fact that he was not offered long-term cooperation.
CSKA (2011-2012)
The head coach was glad to be back in the team of a universal player. Although now Anton has a lot of new competitors. This is the star Milos Teodosic, as well as Alexey Shved and Jamont Gordon. In the first match of the VTB League against Spartak Ponkrashov fans of his former team booed. The hero of this article spent further matches mainly on the bench.
Charity
In addition to sports, there is another direction that Anton Ponkrashov is engaged in. Basketball player donates money to orphanages. The athlete began to engage in this type of activity in 2011. Then Anton sent money to the orphanage in the village of Velikoye (Yaroslavl region) to improve the living conditions of the pupils. Ponkrashov also repaired the computer classroom of the institution. And the athlete periodically invites children to the basketball games of his club. Anton takes an active part in various charity events.