Anton Ponomarev is an Kazakh

Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...

 professional basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 player.

Pro career

He started playing for the Astana Tigers

Astana Tigers

BK Astana Tigers is a Kazakhstani basketball club based in the Kazakhstani capital, Astana. The team competes in the First Division of the Kazakhstani National League, having already won 6 championships...

 of the Kazakh Basketball League. In October 2010 he moved to Serbia

Serbia

Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...

, signing a contract with pro club KK FMP Železnik

KK FMP

KK FMP , also known as FMP Železnik, is a defunct Serbian basketball club.Based in the Belgrade's neighborhood of Železnik, the club continually posts notable results every competition it competes in...

.

Kazahstan national team

Despite his young age, Ponomarev has already competed in most of Asia’s most prestigious basketball events, including the Stankovic Cup

Stankovic Cup

The FIBA Stanković Continental Champions’ Cup is an international basketball tournament for men's national teams held annually by the International Basketball Federation . The idea for the tournament came from Dr...

, and both the FIBA Asia Championship 2007

FIBA Asia Championship 2007

The 2007 FIBA Asia Championship for Men is the qualifying tournament for FIBA Asia at the men's basketball tournament at the 2008 Summer Olympics at Beijing. The tournament was held in Tokushima, Japan from July 28 to August 5, 2007....

 and FIBA Asia Championship 2009

FIBA Asia Championship 2009

The 2009 FIBA Asia Championship for Men was the biennial Asian continental championship and also served as the FIBA Asia qualifying tournament for the 2010 FIBA World Championship. The tournament was held from August 6 to 16, 2009 in Tianjin, China....

.

At the FIBA Asia Championship 2007

FIBA Asia Championship 2007

The 2007 FIBA Asia Championship for Men is the qualifying tournament for FIBA Asia at the men's basketball tournament at the 2008 Summer Olympics at Beijing. The tournament was held in Tokushima, Japan from July 28 to August 5, 2007....

, Ponomarev helped the Kazakhs to a national best fourth place finish by leading the team in scoring (17.6 points per game) and rebounding (7.1 rebounds per game). Ponomarev also played for the national team at the FIBA Asia Championship 2009

FIBA Asia Championship 2009

The 2009 FIBA Asia Championship for Men was the biennial Asian continental championship and also served as the FIBA Asia qualifying tournament for the 2010 FIBA World Championship. The tournament was held from August 6 to 16, 2009 in Tianjin, China....

. Although the Kazakhs finished a disappointing ninth, Ponomarev led the team in rebounding with 9.6 rebounds per game, finishing as the third overall tournament leader behind NBA players Hamed Haddadi and Yi Jianlian

Yi Jianlian

Yi Jianlian is a Chinese professional basketball player for the Guangdong Southern Tigers. He has also played in the NBA for the Milwaukee Bucks, New Jersey Nets, and Washington Wizards. Yi played power forward for the Guangdong Southern Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association in 2002 and...

.

External links

• DraftExpress.com Profile