In-form Menk rejuvenates Ginebra

MANILA, Philippines – When Eric Menk is focused, there's really little the opposition can do about him. This was showcased by the former MVP when he led Barangay Ginebra to back-to-back wins and earned for himself the Motolite/Accel-PBA Press Corps' Player of the Week honors for the period April 12 to 20. No one in the Fiesta Conference was hotter than Menk in the extended stretch leading up to the All-Star break as he averaged 23 points and 7.5 rebounds in a reliever's role, leading the Kings' sustained rise from the cellar. Few are as happy with the 34-year-old forward's seeming rejuvenation as Ginebra coach Jong Uichico as his team. “Those numbers only show that if he really puts his mind to it, he can be the Menk he once was," said Uichico of the man who earned the league's highest individual accolade during the 2004-05 season. In a way, Menk putting up his big numbers, made more impressive by the fact he averaged only 4.0 points and 3.7 rebounds in the first three games he has played, is to be expected, added Uichico. After all, the Michigan-born player missed four straight games due to an ankle injury and now has additional help in Ginebra's beefed-up frontline, lessening the minutes required from him. And there's Menk's rediscovered work ethics. “He now comes to practice earlier and works out longer," related Uichico. It all first showed when Ginebra took on Rain or Shine last Friday. Playing the role of the import the Kings didn't have, Menk poured in a game-high 24 points and nine rebounds in just 25 minutes for a 94-89 victory. The burly 6-foot-7 followed that up with 22 points and six rebounds in a 100-94 win over favored Burger King last Monday, with 11 of his points and three of his rebounds coming in the fourth quarter. Counting a 110-103 win over Barako Bull last March 28, Ginebra has now strung up three straight victories, jacking its win-loss record to 4-5 and a tie for sixth-running spot with the Whoppers. Not bad for a team that started out with a win before losing five straight games to languish in the cellar for so long. It is not lost on many observers that Ginebra's rise parallels that of Menk and Uichico quickly points out the two can take the cue from each other. “We still can't afford to take it easy, that we can now afford to relax. Mas lalo pa dapat mag-trabaho, mad-doble kayod," Uichico said. –GMANews.TV