Yaxel Lendeborg leads Michigan to the Final Four
-
Luis Miguel,
- March 30, 2026
Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan make it look easy
Yaxel Lendeborg could have gone to the NBA last year. But he had one main goal when he transferred to Michigan last year. The Dominican American wanted to chase an NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament National Championship.
He’s one step closer. Unlike the three other schools that clinched spots in the Final Four, Michigan made it look easy while cruising in the Midwest Regional final. Lendeborg, the Naismith Player of the Year finalist, led Michigan with 27 points on Sunday as the Wolverines topped Tennessee 95-62.
“When this group got together, just like coach (Dusty May) was saying, we all wanted to make it to the National Championship and win it,” Lendeborg said. “We worked tirelessly on making sure that our mentality was right, not just physical.
“And we all trust each other. We play hard for each other. We make extra plays for each other. We’re going to do whatever we want for each other.”
Plenty of Latino Madness
March Madness has lived up to the hype so far. After a wild weekend of basketball, the Final Four is set and will be infused with Latino Excellence. All the teams in the Final Four – Michigan, UConn, Illinois and Arizona – will have Latinos playing key roles on the court and off.
Lendeborg is arguably the biggest star left in the NCAA Tournament. He played a key role as the Wolverines crushed Tennessee. A game that started close got out of hand pretty quickly. Tennessee actually got off to a 16-14 lead.
Michigan scored the next 21 points to take a 35-16 lead, and the Wolverines never looked back. Lendeborg, whose father played for the Dominican Men’s Basketball national team, was instrumental during the team’s 21-0 run.
More from Our Esquina
Optimistic Orlando Antigua counts blessing helping Illinois
Mexican teen prodigy Karim Lopez moves closer to NBA dream
Warriors center Al Horford keeps inspiring
His most impressive play occurred when he finished an acrobatic reverse layup as part of a 3-point play halfway through the first half.
“Like I was saying before, we’re an unselfish group of guys,” Lendeborg said. “Nobody cares about their stats on this team. We don’t have the best player on this team. We have a guy that’s going to show up that night, we have a couple guys, it doesn’t matter. We’re going to go out there and do whatever we need to do to win.
“And if it’s making an extra pass, everybody on this team will make that extra pass for each other no matter what’s going on.”
Spanish flavor too
Lendeborg’s Spanish teammate Aday Mara also had an impressive performance on Sunday, scoring 11 points, securing four rebounds and blocked two shots. The Wolverines will again rely on the 7-foot-3 center as a defensive anchor against Arizona next week.
While Mara’s parents were not able to attend games this weekend, they plan to make the trip from Spain to Indianapolis for the Final Four. Here are more Latinos to watch:
Malachi Smith
UConn’s Malachi Smith scored nine points off the bench in the victory over Duke. The senior from the Bronx is the son of a Puerto Rican. He attended St. Raymond in the Bronx, which is also the alma mater of Illinois associate head coach Orlando Antigua.
Smith, a redshirt senior from the Bronx, spent his first four years of college at the University of Dayton. The 6-foot-1 guard has averaged 3.6 points and 3 assists per game this season. He was a starter at Dayton before coming off the bench for UConn.
Orlando Antigua
Orlando Antigua helped lead the Illinois Fighting Illini past the Iowa Hawkeyes 71-59 in the South Regional in Houston on Saturday night. Illinois will play UConn in the Final Four.
Antigua, a former McDonald’s All-American, was born in the Dominican Republic and raised in the Bronx. His decorated 22-year coaching career includes roles as an assistant coach with the University of Memphis, University of Kentucky and Illinois.
Dominican trailblazer
Antigua, 53, also was the head coach at the University of South Florida and for the Dominican men’s national team. He is trying to win his second national championship as an assistant coach after helping Kentucky in 2012.
Antigua played a major role in recruiting the Eastern Europe stars who have played a key role for Illinois.
Austin Torres
Austin Torres, a Tucson, Arizona, native, is the Director of Basketball Operations for the top seed Arizona Wildcats.
Luka Piña
Luka Piña, a Chicago native with Mexican and Chilean roots, is a senior student manager at Illinois.
Antigua, the first Latino to play for the Harlem Globetrotters, and Lendeborg are proud Dominicans. They’re both proud to represent their roots.
“So just being able to make it this far and continuing to want to get more, it means a lot,” Lendeborg said. “Just means how much we’ve done together as a unit and how unselfish this team has been all year.”
Luis Miguel
Our Esquina contributor Luis Miguel is a Boston sports fan and former college basketball player who has built his career at the intersection of sports and business. He holds an MBA from UC Berkeley Haas and currently resides in Miami.
Stay in the Loop
Get the Our Esquina Email Newsletter
By submitting your email, you are agreeing to receive additional communications and exclusive content from Our Esquina. You can unsubscribe at any time.