PARIS (AP) — The collar of Victor Wembanyama’s jersey was stained with blood from a fresh cut on the left side of his neck after France secured its place in the gold medal match at the Paris Olympics. He sweated profusely during the match and was holding back tears when it was all over.

Blood, sweat and tears. How apt.

“We talk about blood in our national anthem,” Wembanyama said. “We are willing to shed blood on the field. So, it’s not a big deal. If it helps us win gold, I offer. Take it all.”

Wembanyama — the NBA’s rookie of the year, the No. 1 draft pick, already an international phenomenon — has a new award. He’s an Olympic medalist. The only question is whether it’s gold or silver, which will be determined Saturday night in the final game of the men’s basketball tournament at the Paris Games.

France is advancing to its second consecutive Olympic gold medal match after beating Germany 73-69 in the first of two semifinals on Thursday. It will be a rematch of the championship game; the French lost to the United States in the Tokyo Games final three years ago and the Americans came from 17 points down to beat Serbia 95-91.

Wembanyama was just a kid back then, a 17-year-old who was just starting to be recognized as an NBA prospect. Now he’s a bigger kid, 20 years old, 7 feet 4 inches tall, considered a national hero — not to mention a hero in San Antonio, where he’s tasked with getting the Spurs back to prominence — and he could see his star rise even higher on Saturday night.

“Of course, this is part of a dream come true,” Wembanyama said. “We can be part of a goal we set for ourselves months ago. We can make history, and even more. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime dream.”

His final numbers, as watched by San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich and team president RC Buford on Thursday, were: 11 points, seven rebounds on just 4 of 17 shots. The numbers didn’t look great, but his impact went far beyond what was visible on the stat sheet.

Midway through the third quarter, Germany guard Dennis Schroder passed Wembanyama on his way to the basket. All Wembanyama had to do at that point was turn around, extend his right arm and block even the slightest bit of Schroder’s shot from going into the air.

In the fourth, he caught Schroder again — this time, blocking a 3-point attempt. That led to a 3-pointer by France’s Frank Ntilikina on the other end, giving the home team a 10-point lead, and Wembanyama pumped his fist in celebration. With Germany pressing late, Wembanyama made a larger-than-life pass down the lane with the shot clock running out, setting the stage for Guerschon Yabuschele to make two free throws that extended the lead to 69-60 with 4:00 left.

And France held on. Wembanyama’s free throw with 10.9 seconds left made it 71-68, Germany never got another shot to tie or take the lead, and that was that. France celebrated wildly afterwards, and for good reason.

“The fans made it hard for me not to cry,” Wembanyama said. “I thank them.”

France has achieved something rare: Home advantage is not usually a big deal in men’s basketball at the Olympics.

The French will become only the third team to play for an Olympic men’s basketball gold medal on home soil. The United States did so in 1984 in Los Angeles and 1996 in Atlanta, winning both times.

The United States (gold in 1984 and 1996) and the Soviet Union (bronze) in Moscow in 1980 are the only teams to ever win a home medal of any color in men’s basketball; France will join that list on Saturday by winning gold or silver.

In recent times, most Olympic hosts have not even come close to a medal: Japan finished 11th in Tokyo three years ago, Brazil ninth in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, Great Britain ninth in London in 2012, China eighth in Beijing in 2008, Spain ninth in Barcelona in 1992 and South Korea ninth in Seoul in 1988. (The exceptions in these years were the United States’ victory in 1996, Australia fourth in Sydney in 2000 and Greece fifth in Athens in 2004.)

Of course, those teams did not have Wembanyama.

He comes into these Games as the Frenchman’s hope after being the clear choice for rookie of the year, a defensive player of the year finalist and a multiple All-NBA selection in his first NBA season in San Antonio.

She performed wonderfully at the Olympics and now has a chance to win a gold medal.

“This jersey brings us a different energy that we can’t find anywhere else,” Wembanyama said. “It’s something that we all feel as patriots. We love our jersey. We love our country.”

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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games