Skip to main content
Join Now
Team Avatar
Iowa

Alvaro Folgueiras dedicates game to parents, shares words shared during hug with mom

Byington mugby: Alex Byington03/23/26_AlexByington

Alvaro Folgueiras normally towers over his mother. But when Beatris Campos wrapped her arms around the neck of the 6-foot-10 Iowa junior forward, he practically melted back into the oversized 16-year-old that she sent to America four years ago to pursue his dream of playing American college basketball.

Campos made the nearly 4,500-mile journey from their family home in Malaga, Spain to Tampa, Fla. to watch Folgueiras play in-person during the opening weekend of the 2026 NCAA Tournament. And her son didn’t disappoint, draining a game-winning 3-pointer with 4.5 seconds left to send ninth-seeded Iowa to a stunning 73-72 upset of top-seeded and defending national champion Florida on Sunday night.

Prior to this weekend, it’d been nearly two years since the 20-year-old Folgueiras saw his mother in person. Folgueiras dedicated Sunday’s win to his mother and late father, who died when he was nine, and explained their close connection during the postgame press conference.

“Well we didn’t say much. She told me she loved me 100 times. I said I love you 100 times back,” Folgueiras said of his emotional reunion with his mother. “It’s super special. Having my mom here, she’s everything for me. Where would the world be without the moms? She’s super tough. She’s been through a lot of things in life and sometimes when I struggle through basketball and basketball is life, I think of my mom as an example of resilience. And that really inspires me and keeps me going. She’s not just a fighter. She’s a super special people. I’m so lucky to have her as a mom.”

Check out the emotional reunion below:

Folguerias last saw his mother when he played a pair of friendlies with Spain’s men’s national team last summer while participating in the 2025 FIBA Under-20 EuroBasket Championships in Heraklion, Greece.

“She saw me with the national team in the summer but in college basketball, she came to one game when I was freshman (at Robert Morris in 2023-24) — I didn’t play much,” Folgueiras added. “She coming back after two years and seeing where I am right now, and how much I worked to be where I am right now, for her, it’s a great feeling because she sent a 16-year-odd kid to America without knowing any English. without anything but dreams and hunger. And this one is for her and my dad. He’s watching up there.”

Folgueiras scored 14 points in 18 minutes off the bench Sunday against Florida, but none were bigger than his final ones when he caught a pass in the left corner and fired off a dagger 3-pointer with about 4 1/2 seconds left in regulation to send the Hawkeyes to their first Sweet 16 this century. Iowa last made the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament in 1999.