Gelvis Andres Solano Paulino (born 1 June 1994) is a Dominican professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for Dewa United Banten of the

Indonesian Basketball League The Indonesian Basketball League (IBL; id, Liga Bola Basket Indonesia) is the preeminent men's professional basketball league in Indonesia, founded by Indonesian Basketball Association (Perbasi) in 2003. From 2010 to 2015 it was known as the Na ...

(IBL).

Early life

Solano is the son of Andrés Solano, a former member of the

Dominican Republic national baseball team The Dominican Republic national baseball team (Spanish: ''Selección de béisbol de República Dominicana'') is the national baseball team of the Dominican Republic. The team has won the Baseball World Cup in 1948 and World Baseball Classic in 201 ...

. Like many Dominican kids, he started out playing baseball. At the age of 9, he switched to basketball.Gelvis Solano, el “dueño” de la pelota
El Liberal, 6 June 2019. Accessed 21 February 2020.

College career

He played four years at

Merrimack College Merrimack College is a private Augustinian university in North Andover, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1947 by the Order of St. Augustine with an initial goal to educate World War II veterans. Its campus has grown to a campus with nearly 40 bu ...

from 2012 to 2016 where he finished as all-time second place for points scored.

Professional career

After he finished College in the US, Solano went back to Dominican to play for

Reales de La Vega Reales de La Vega is a professional basketball team based in La Vega Province, Dominican Republic. The team currently plays in the Dominican top division, Liga Nacional de Baloncesto. Championships Liga Nacional de Baloncesto The Liga Nacional de ...

. The team reached the playoffs, but lost in the second round before the semifinals. Then, he played in the second division there for the Enriquillo Rebels and soon gained the nickname as ''Dominican Westbrook''. His debut in Argentina top league came with

Atlético Echagüe Atlético Echagüe is an Argentine professional basketball team located in Paraná, Entre Ríos. The team competes in the Liga Nacional de Básquet. Notable players * Matias Nocedal * Gelvis Solano * Josimar Ayarza Josimar Abdiel Ayarza Tous ( ...

in 2016/17. His career continued with

Hunan Jinjian Rice Industry The National Basketball League () is a professional basketball minor league in China, called Chinese Basketball League (CBL) before 2006. It is commonly known as the NBL, and this name (spelled out in letters) is often used even in Chinese. NB ...

, of the

National Basketball League (China) The National Basketball League () is a professional basketball minor league in China, called Chinese Basketball League (CBL) before 2006. It is commonly known as the NBL, and this name (spelled out in letters) is often used even in Chinese. NBL ...

. His best match was against Hebei Xianglan Kylins, in which he converted 60 points. Solano recalls that he recorded many steals Later, he went on to Bergamo Basket 2014, of the Italian

Serie A2 Basket Serie A2, known for sponsorship reasons as Serie A2 Old Wild West, is a men's basketball league in Italy. It constitutes the second-tier of the Italian league pyramid, below the first division LBA and above the third division Serie B, with pro ...

before he returned to the Dominican Republic and in the summer of 2018 he became champion with

. After evaluating his options, he went on to play for

Ciclista Olímpico Club Ciclista Olímpico La Banda, also known as simply Ciclista Olímpico, is an Argentine sports club based in La Banda, Santiago del Estero. The club is mostly known for its basketball team, which currently plays in the Liga Nacional de Básquet ...

in Argentina.Gelvis Solano habló de las claves para el clásico entre Olímpico y Quimsa
Diario Panorama, 18 March 2019. Accessed 21 February 2020. Olympic came from an opaque performance in the Super 20 and decided to release Sebastián Vázquez, in favor of Solano. Olímpico closed the regular phase in eleventh position and went against

Obras Sanitarias Club Atlético Obras Sanitarias de la Nación (mostly known simply as Obras Sanitarias or Obras) is an Argentina, Argentine professional sports club that is located in the district of Núñez, Buenos Aires. Although originally conceived as a rugb ...

where Olímpico struggled but was able to close the series 3-2. After eliminating Obras, Olímpico focused on

Club La Unión Club La Unión (also known as La Unión de Formosa) is a sports club based on the city of Formosa, Argentina. The club is known for both its basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, oppo ...

, which Solano helped beat 3-0 in the series. Solano had a direct duel with Federico Marín. Gelvis commented on the matter: “I saw that he was celebrating too much in our house and that is disrespectful. I took it a little personal.”

National team

Solano has been a member of the

Dominican Republic national basketball team The Dominican Republic national basketball team ( es, Selección de Baloncesto de República Dominicana) represents the Dominican Republic in men's international basketball competitions. In 2011 and 2012, John Calipari, the head coach of the U ...

. Gelvis returned to wear the shirt of his country in the AmeriCup, which was played in Uruguay. At the

2019 FIBA World Cup The 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup was the 18th tournament of the FIBA Basketball World Cup for men's national basketball teams. The tournament was hosted in China and was rescheduled from 2018 to 2019, becoming the first since 1967 that did no ...

in China, he was one of the cornerstones of the team that surprisingly beat

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and advanced to the second round instead of the heavily favored competitor.

References

External links

Profile
at RealGM.com
Profile
at 2019 Basketball World Cup {{DEFAULTSORT:Solano, Gelvis 1994 births Living people Ciclista Olímpico players Club Athletico Paulistano basketball players Dominican Republic expatriate basketball people in Argentina Dominican Republic expatriate basketball people in Brazil Dominican Republic expatriate basketball people in the United States Dominican Republic expatriate sportspeople in Hungary Dominican Republic men's basketball players Merrimack Warriors men's basketball players Point guards Sportspeople from Santo Domingo Szolnoki Olaj KK players 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup players Basketball players at the 2023 Pan American Games Reales de La Vega players