Denied a happy ending with Ginebra, 'Major Pain' Eric Menk eyes major comeback

The PBA Draft is all about new opportunities. It’s about youngsters fulfilling their dreams by making it to the league. For some veterans, the PBA Draft is by no means a joyous event. It means that some of them will fall through the cracks, some of them will bid their PBA careers goodbye.
 
Eric Menk came very close to being one of those veterans.
 
“I was looking at the draft and I thought there were a lot of good players there,” Menk said. “I was thinking that it wasn’t looking good for me and maybe I should just retire.”
 
Menk wore red Ginebra shorts and a plain white at the Moro Lorenzo Gym inside the Ateneo Campus. It was a Friday, his third day of practice with GlobalPort Batang Pier. With his practice gear, Menk seemed like he was still with his old team, the team he served for the past 12 years.

But this was no longer the case. Menk was with the newbies of the PBA. Surrounded by largely new faces, Menk practiced until his white shirt was soaking wet. Feeling some discomfort, Menk took off his top and changed to a black GlobalPort jersey. Batang Pier was plastered in front, a meek reminder of what team he was now playing for.

Eased out of the rotation
 
Menk’s departure from the Kings was painfully gradual. After suffering injuries, Menk was slowly eased out of Ginebra’s rotation until he fell out of favor.

“The stakes are always high with Ginebra,” he said. “So the tendency is to change it up when expectations aren’t met.”

The Kings have been one of the most active teams in the PBA when it comes to trading and replacing personnel. In the past year, they were handled by three different head coaches. Siot Tanquincen, Alfrancis Chua, and Ato Agustin all coached a conference each for the Kings. Menk feels that this is one of the reasons he never got another shot.

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“I didn’t have the most opportunities with Ginebra in my last two years there,” he rued. “The last time I was with the team in 2011 to 2012, I did have some injury problems but I didn’t get a lot of opportunities. I didn’t get to play.” During that PBA season, Menk only played seven games. He averaged 1.71 points and 2.57 rebounds a game in less than 10 minutes on the floor.  Minor stats, minor minutes for Major Pain.
 
“Then during that draft the last draft they got Chris Ellis and Keith Jensen, and they also didn’t renew my contract,” Menk said. “They reached the five Fil-Am limit and they told me I was the odd Fil-Am out.”

ABL stint
 
Loaned to the San Miguel Beermen in the ASEAN Basketball League, Menk still thought he could finish his career with the team he stayed with for so long but as the new PBA season approached, his chances got dimmer and dimmer.
 
“I contacted Ginebra a month before my contract expired to see if they had a plan for me,” Menk shared. “I’ve been with the company for 12 years and I wanted to see what direction they were heading. To make the long story short, I didn’t hear anything from them.”
 
“I always thought I’d retire with Ginebra. I thought I’ll be a part of their team one way or another but that didn’t work out. Nothing was offered. There was discussion of me joining them again in the Philippine Cup or joining the coaching staff but those proposals never pushed through. I was under contract and I was a phone call away so I was really expecting a call in the third conference especially after they got all these injuries but I just never received it.”

A new lease on his career
 
He was ready to announce his retirement but a call from an unlikely source came through. GlobalPort picked Terrence Romeo, RR Garcia, Isaan Holstein (later traded to San Mig Coffee for Justin Chua and Leo Najorda), and Nico Salva to start their youth movement but owner Mikee Romero decided to give the 39-year-old Menk another shot at ending his PBA career with a bang.
 
“Two days after the draft, I got the call from GlobalPort,” Menk said. “I was actually looking at Global but then they took four really good players in the draft but with Enrico (Villanueva) still injured, I guess they needed another big.”
 
For his first three practices with GlobalPort, Menk used beat-up Nike LeBron 8s. Apart from basketball so long, he didn’t bother getting new kicks as he thought retirement was imminent.

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“I’m lucky I still have these,” Menk said of his shoes. “I haven’t played basketball since June so it’s been five months.” But even though he was out of action for so long, Menk was in good shape. “I’m a crossfitter,” he admitted. “I train four to six times a week. I’m not in basketball shape but I felt surprisingly good considering how long I was away from basketball.”
 
With the Batang Pier’s slim center rotation, Menk will get a lot of opportunities to show the league that he still got it. This early, Sol Mercado, GlobalPort’s top guard is already gave Menk his vote of confidence saying he should be the team’s starting center. His old role back in his heydays with Ginebra.
 
“I’ve had the best moments of my career, the best moments of my life with Ginebra. For sure it will be weird being on the other side,” Menk said. “But I really miss being a part of a team and the people here seem like they want me to be here so I guess now it’s time to make new memories with GlobalPort.”