Army veteran Mason Symons surveys the scene before throwing a pass during the USA’s 50-43 victory over Great Britain in a wheelchair rugby semifinal match at Champ-de-Mars Arena in Paris. (Screen capture from NBC Sports on YouTube)

PARIS — Mason Symons doesn’t want to give away any secrets ahead of the wheelchair rugby gold-medal match.

The Army veteran and the U.S. advanced on Sunday evening with a 50-43 victory over Great Britain in a semifinal at Champ-de-Mars Arena. That win booked a spot against Japan, against whom the Americans are motivated to play after a loss in pool play.

“We’re confident in ourselves; we believe in ourselves,” Symons said. “It’s another opportunity to go out there and show what we can do.”

To get that rematch, the U.S. needed to get past Great Britain, the team that snatched gold from the squad in Tokyo.

The Americans separated themselves early in the second quarter, thanks to a stretch of three steals over a 1 minute, 56-second span. Star Chuck Aoki (14 tries) got two, and fellow starter Josh Wheeler (18 tries) picked up the other.

Each time the Americans made the British pay, including at the 5:41 mark when Aoki forced the turnover deep in Britain’s defensive half and passed to Clayton Brackett for the try.

That allowed the Americans to build up a five-try advantage.

Overall, the U.S. forced seven turnovers, five of which were steals.

“Our biggest asset is our defense,” Symons said. “We talk about this: The only team that can beat us is us. If we take care of the ball, we know we have a monstrous defense. We have the full faith in it.”

U.S. Army veteran Mason Symons and the U.S. wheelchair rugby team will play of a gold medal at the Paris Parlympics. (Team USA)

Symons’ biggest contribution came during a delicate moment for the Americans.

Wheeler committed a flagrant foul at the 1:51 mark, which meant the Hershey, Pa., native, who had been on the floor for just more than a minute, and the U.S. had to play down a man for three minutes or three British tries, whichever came first.

Britain did get those tries in 1:40, but Aoki scored 6 seconds before the break to give the U.S. a 24-21 halftime lead.

That proved to be enough, as the U.S. pushed the advantage back out midway through the third period and never looked back.

“The biggest thing during that time was not wasting a timeout because of the numbers,” said Symons, who recorded one try in 4:49 of action. “Ride the wave; ride the storm.”

Now, the Americans turn their attention to Japan, which defeated Australia 52-51 in an overtime thriller Sunday afternoon.

The U.S. will have revenge on their minds for the second straight day after the 45-42 loss to Japan on Friday. The team also seeks to avoid its third straight silver medal after dropping the title matches in Rio de Janeiro (to Australia) and Tokyo.

Japan, meanwhile, is coming off two consecutive bronze medals.

Even though Symons wasn’t on the previous teams, the 35-year-old said the entire squad is motivated to get over the hump and bring home gold.

“We’re excited, and we’re proud, but we’re not satisfied,” Symons said. “We’re looking forward to the opportunity in front of us.”

The gold-medal match begins at 7:30 p.m. CET at Champ-de-Mars Arena.

Elsewhere around the Paris Paralympics on Sunday:

• Marine veteran Jorge Salazar came off the bench as the U.S. men’s wheelchair basketball team pulled away from Australia for a 76-69 victory at Bercy Arena.

The 34-year-old Salazar played almost 12 minutes, scoring four points, shooting 1-for-3 from the field and 2-for-4 from the free-throw line. He also corralled two defensive rebounds.

The Americans won their group with an unbeaten record. They await the fourth-place team in Pool A, which will be decided Monday, in a quarterfinal matchup on Tuesday.

• In Chateauroux, France, Army Staff Sgt. Kevin Nguyen failed to qualify for the final in R3-mixed 10-meter air rifle prone SH1 competition, finishing in 27th place with 628.4 points.

• The triathlon was postponed to Monday because of poor water quality in the Seine. Army veterans Howie Sanborn, Melissa Stockwell and Kelly Elmlinger and Marine veteran Eric McElvenny must wait a day to compete in their respective divisions of the para triathlon.

Sanborn will start at 8:15 a.m. CET in the men’s PTWC, Stockwell at 9:35 a.m. CET in the women’s PTS2, McElvenny at 12:25 p.m. CET in the men’s PTS4 and Elmlinger at 12:40 p.m. in the women’s PTS4

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