'Sons of Congo' focuses on Serge's remarkable trajectory from the Congo to the NBA, and beautifully captures what it's like for him to return home. Filmed over nine days last July, the documentary gives an inside look into Ibaka's personal life and upbringing.
One of the biggest stories in the film is that the NBA player has a 9-year-old daughter, named Ranie, who he was only told about by his father when she was 5 years old. Whaaaaaat?!?
"He told me finally, 'Serge this is the moment I'm going to tell you the truth, you're mature now, you've got your own life, I want you to be the man to take responsibility,' so he started to tell me the story," Ibaka said. "And I was like, 'Oh, are you joking, or are you serious?' No, he says it's true. I wanted to think it was a joke, trust me, I wanted to think he was joking or giving me a hard time. But he was serious. It was hard, hard to know that. But I'm happy now, I'm a happy man to know I've got a daughter and she's like my best friend."
Talk about keeping a secret, how did Serge's Dad manage to keep such a huge piece of news so quiet? People talk! Who was taking care of this child for the first five years?
For those of us living in the diaspora isn't this all too familiar?! Folks back home always assume we are loaded since we are coming from the land of "milk & honey", within days/minutes/seconds of arriving we are constantly being asked for money. Sigh!
Serge's girlfriend Keri Hilson was on hand for the premiere in Oklahoma City a few days ago! She captioned the image above: "Last night at the premiere of #SonOfTheCongo, a documentary on Serge's journey from the Congolese streets to the NBA. It's such an incredible and inspiring story!"
You can watch 'Son of the Congo' right now on Grantland.com or catch it on ESPN on April 17.
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