Blood stained the neckline of Victor Wembanyama's jersey after France clinched a spot in the gold medal game at the Paris Olympics, courtesy of a fresh cut on the left side of his neck.
He did plenty of sweating during the game and was holding back tears when it was all over.
Blood, sweat and tears. How fitting.
“In our national anthem, we talk about blood," Wembanyama said.
“We're willing to spill blood on the court. So it's no big deal. If it allows us to win gold, I’m offering. Take all of it.”
Wembanyama, NBA rookie of the year, No.1 draft pick and already an international phenomenon, is now certain to be an Olympic medallist in Paris.
The only question is whether it’ll be gold or silver, something to be determined Saturday night against the United States in the final game of the men’s basketball tournament at the Paris Games.
France is headed to their second consecutive Olympic gold-medal contest, after beating Germany 73-69, while the Americans survived a mighty scare before downing Serbia 95-91 on Thursday.
It's a title-game rematch: the French lost to the US in the final at the Tokyo Games three years ago.
Wembanyama was just a kid then, a 17-year-old who was in the early days of becoming known as an NBA prospect.
He’s a bigger kid now, a 7-foot-4, 20-year-old who is already considered a national hero - to mention one in San Antonio, where he's been tasked with leading the Spurs back to prominence - and could see his star rise even higher on Saturday night.
“Of course, it's part of a dream come true,” Wembanyama said.
“We can be part of a goal that we set for ourselves months back. We can write history, even more. A once-in-a-lifetime dream.”
Wembanyama posted 11 points and seven rebounds against Germany, with San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich looking on.
His free throw with 10.9 seconds remaining gave France a three-point lead at 71-68, with Germany not allowed another shot to tie or take the lead.
The French will be only the third team to play for Olympic men’s basketball gold on home soil.
The US did it at Los Angeles in 1984 and at Atlanta in 1996, winning both times.
US stars LeBrown James, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry trailed until late in the fourth quarter before turning the tide against the World Cup runners-up.
The US are now aiming for a fifth straight and 17th overall title.
Curry had 36 points, Joel Embiid 19, and James 16 along with 12 rebounds against the Serbians paced by Bogdan Bogdanovic's 20 points and 17 from Nikola Jovic.
Serbia led by as much as 17 points, and by 11 at half-time as well as early in the fourth quarter. But James levelled at 84-84 and Curry's three-pointer put the US ahead 87-86, and they held out for the remaining two minutes.
Unlucky Serbia, who fought off a 24-point deficit to beat Australia in the quarter-final, will play Germany for bronze in a rematch of the 2023 World Cup final.
