Former Robert Morris Star Captures His ‘One Shining Moment’ in NCAA Tournament

Former Robert Morris star and current Iowa forward Alvaro Folgueiras, a native of Malaga, Spain, is the living definition of a dreamer.

Folgueiras came to the United States by himself as a 16-year old, leaving behind his mother to pursue his passion of basketball. When he arrived in the states, he spoke no english, knew nothing about what was around him, but the one thing that he was certain about was to live out his dream of playing college basketball.

After last season, in which he helped guide Robert Morris to a program-tying 26 wins, a trip to the NCAA Tournament and won the Horizon League Player of the Year, Folgueiras decided to make the tough decision to part ways with the only place he knew after coming overseas and enter the transfer portal for an opportunity to play basketball at an even higher level.

That decision paid off for Folgueiras on Sunday night as he not only etched his name into Iowa and College Basketball history, but he also captured his own personal “One Shining Moment” as the hero of Iowa’s biggest win in 27 years.

The Hawkeyes found themselves down by two with eight seconds to go against the defending National Champions in what was basically a road tournament game.

The Hawkeyes were in need of some March magic, and Folgueiras delivered.

After Iowa head coach Ben McCollum drew up a play for Bennett Stirtz, Folgueiras found his point guard shortly after the huddle broke and told him that “I’m going to be ready, and I’m going to make it.”

That’s exactly what Folgueiras did.

After Stirtz received the inbound and got to near midcourt, he saw Folgueiras open in the corner and fed him the ball. Folgueiras did the rest as he took a step back behind the three-point line as he gathered the ball, rose up and took the shot that will go down in Iowa history as it not only capped off the upset of No. 1 Florida, but it punched the program’s ticket back to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1999.

“March is for the dreamers,” Folgueiras said after the game.

While his shot will go down in history and will likely be one of the key pieces for the NCAA’s “One Shining Moment” montage that they release at the conclusion of the tournament, Folgueiras’ shining moment goes beyond just the game-winning shot.

He did it in with his mother in attendance and she was the first person that he went to embrace when the final buzzer sounded off.

Upon his arrival to Robert Morris a little over three years ago, Folgueiras did not see his family much. His mother managed to attend one game during his freshman season and only was able to catch games during the summer when Folgueiras is back in Spain on the U20 National Team.

His mother means the world to him, especially since his father passed away when he was just 9-years old, though he plays the game with his father’s memory in mind as evident by his three-point celebration in which he raises a finger to the sky in his honor.

“It’s super special having my mom here, she’s everything for me,” Folgueiras told reporters after the game. “She’s super tough, she’s been through a lot of things in life.”

It is the will and testimony of his mother that keeps Folgueiras going when things get tough as he looks at her as the strongest person in the world.

“Sometimes when I struggle [with] basketball, and basketball is life, I think of my mom as an example of resilience, and that really inspires me and gives me confidence.” Folgueiras continued. “I’m so lucky to have her as a mom.”

Although Alvaro Folgueiras will now always be remembered as the Hawkeye that sent Iowa back to the Sweet 16, he started as Robert Morris’ golden boy and he will never forget his roots.

When he decided to transfer, Folgueiras stated in his appreciation post that he will be a Colonial Crazy “forever” and he stuck to his word despite being apart of Iowa’s beatdown of Robert Morris to start the season.

Robert Morris forward Nikolaos Chitikoudis brings the ball up court in front of former Robert Morris, current Iowa forward Alvaro Folgueiras on Nov. 4, 2025 — RMU Athletics

While gearing up for his own conference tournament and eventual NCAA Tournament berth, Folgueiras tuned into the Colonials’ Horizon League quarterfinal and posted a picture in his old jersey and an RMU bucket hat in support of the program that gave him his first chance in America.

Sometimes good things do happen to good people, and through all of the adversity that Folgueiras has fought through in life, he remained good and true. Fate rewarded that resiliency with a shining moment on the game’s biggest stage.