With Kai Sotto continuing to recover from his back problems and playing well enough in their tune-up game against Ivory Coast, head coach Chot Reyes and Filipino fans get renewed hope for a strong FIBA World Cup performance.
On the court, Sotto needs his health to thrive. Off it, however, Kai doesn’t need to be in great shape to become a good kuya. He just is.
On Sunday, the 7-foot-3 beanpole uploaded a series of photos and videos of his younger brother, Tim, on Instagram. Tim apparently is celebrating his seventh birthday—and his kuya could not contain his glee on this special day.
One of the Instagram stories contained this cute throwback photo, showing a teenage Kai with a toddler Tim.
Here’s another photo that looks fairly recent. Just two boys fooling around with their fries.
fries.
The Gilas big man also uploaded a video of the two of them on the basketball court. And it looks like they’ve done this drill before.
Tim came strong, got low on the ground, and set a solid (pretend) pick. Kai obliged and then bounced a sweet dish. The little brother got the ball right on his shooting pocket, rose up, and drilled the bank shot.
It was perfect.
Perhaps it’s mostly because of their undeniable chemistry. Kai has never been shy about displaying his love for Tim—even if that means carrying the not-too-small anymore kid around the mall.
And maybe this sibling love will shape Tim to be a future Gilas player. Who knows?
We’ll find out soon enough.