Eric Conrad Menk is a Filipino American retired professional basketball player who played in the PBA and the Asean Basketball League. Known as Major Pain, Menk is a four-time PBA champion ang was the 2004-05 PBA MBP.
After the 2001 PBA season, Tanduay was finalizing its sale to FedEx when Eric Menk was traded to crowd-favorite Barangay Ginebra Kings for Elmer Lago and a draft pick.
His debut with the team was delayed, as he spent his time with the Philippine National Team for the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, South Korea. The Philippines finished in fourth place with Eric Menk showing a decent performance in the tournament. In the All-Filipino Conference, Menk finally made his Ginebra debut but was unable to lead the Kings into the quarterfinals.
In 2003, Eric Menk had a strong performance during the season but, still, Barangay Ginebra failed to enter the semi-finals of the tournament. Eric Menk played in the 2003 PBA All-Star Game.
However, the 2004-2005 season marked Menk’s biggest season yet. He led the Barangay Ginebra Kings to two consecutive PBA titles, winning the transition Fiesta Conference and the Philippine Cup. He also won the Best Player of the Conference honors during the two said tournaments. During the 2005 Fiesta Conference, Eric Menk was suspended indefinitely by the league for failure to show additional documents of his citizenship on time, while spending some time with Team Pilipinas. Despite this, Eric Menk still won the 2004-2005 Most Valuable Player Award.
Even being suspended in Ginebra’s remaining games once again in the 2004-2005 Fiesta Conference, he still piled up sufficient statistical points and votes to earn MVP honors. He averaged 17.5 points and a league-best 11.8 rebounds in 71 total games. He won back-to-back Best Player of the Conference honors. His 2004 Fiesta Conference championship was his first as a PBA player after leading Tanduay to numerous crowns in the PBL.
Eric Menk would return for Ginebra during the middle stages of the 2005-2006 Fiesta Conference. While he led the Kings to the semifinals of the tournament, they were eliminated by eventual champion Red Bull Barako in seven grueling games. During the 2006 PBA All-Star Game, his team, the PBA South All-Stars, won against the PBA North All-Stars.
In 2008, the Barangay Ginebra Kings would return to the finals against Air21. It was a long, grueling series where Ginebra lost several players to injury. Despite their losses, Ginebra stretched the series 7 games and eventually won their 4th championship in 4 years. Menk performed well in the series, especially in game 7, in front of a record-setting 22,000 plus crowd at the legendary Araneta Coliseum. He finished with 21 points and 14 rebounds, while earning his 3rd PBA Finals MVP accolade.
