The first person Iowa’s Alvaro Folgueiras ran to after upsetting No. 1 seed Florida 73-72 was his mother. Folgueiras had a dramatic game, filled with allegedly punching Alex Condon in the first half to hitting a game-winning three-pointer to advance Iowa into the Sweet 16.
Instead of celebrating on court, Folgueiras ran to the stands and hugged his mom tightly. The embrace lasted several seconds as he processed the huge upset win.
After the game, Folgueiras explained the loving embrace and the words exchanged between the two.
“Well, we didn’t say much,” Folgueiras said. “She told me I love you 100 times. I say I love you 100 times back. And yeah, I mean, it’s super special having my mom here. She’s everything for me. Like, 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 inspired me and, you know, keep me going because she’s not just a fighter. She’s a super special person. I’m so glad to, I’m so lucky to have her as a mom.”
Folgueiras hadn’t seen his mother since August before the tournament. He is from Spain and lost his father at a young age. Since then, her mother has stood like a pillar of support. Folgueiras also remembered his father after hitting the game-winning shot as he looked up in the sky to pay tribute.
Alvaro Folgueiras Involved in Rough Loose Ball Scramble But Survived Ejection
Before Alvaro Folgueiras could become the hero of the night, there was a moment in the first half where he could have possibly be ejected. With 8:37 remaining in the first half, Folgueiras and Florida’s Alex Condon went for the loose ball.
Despite the whistle being blown by referees resulting in a dead-ball situation, the scuffle continued, and Folgueiras ended up landing a punch to Condon. Coaches and bench players hit the court to break the tie between the two.
However, the punch didn’t appear intentional as the referees claimed the Iowa star was reaching for the ball. Referees announced a double technical foul, one for each player, but Florida men’s basketball head coach Todd Golden was unhappy with the call. He had a heated discussion as he thought Folgueiras should have been ejected.
Instead, he ended up eliminating Todd Golden’s team by the end of the game.
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