Brazil is once again the champion of South America and now has a guaranteed spot at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028. In the decisive clash of the continental championship, Bernardo Rezende's team defeated Argentina 3:0 (25:20, 25:23, 25:20) at "Maracanazinho" in Rio de Janeiro.
The two teams entered the final day of the tournament undefeated, each with four wins. The format of the South American Championship is round-robin, and there is no official final, but the results of the first four rounds turned Brazil – Argentina into a de facto direct match for the title and the only Olympic quota from the tournament.
Brazil set the pace from the start. The hosts took a 7:3 lead thanks to their good defense and subsequent counterattacks, and then extended the lead to 13:8. Argentina managed to close the gap to 15:12, but the Brazilians maintained control. Darlan finished the first set with a diagonal attack for 25:20.
The second set proved to be the most tense. Brazil again started better and took a 10:6 lead, and an ace from Adriano increased the advantage to 13:8. At 20:16, the hosts seemed close to a 2:0 lead, but Argentina made its most serious attempt to change the match and reduced the deficit to 22:21. Bernardinho called a timeout, after which the Brazilians regained control, and Adriano closed the set with a diagonal attack for 25:23.
Argentina took the lead for the first time at the beginning of the third set – 8:6. Brazil's reaction was swift, and the hosts turned it around to 11:9, but their opponent remained in the fight and equalized at 15:15. It was after this that the decisive run came. Brazil again pulled ahead, reached 19:17, and did not allow Argentina to come back. Adriano scored the last point for 25:20 and ended the match.
Thus, Bernardinho's squad finished the tournament with an absolutely clean record – five wins from five matches and not a single set lost. Brazil won all 15 of its sets in the competition, having previously defeated Chile, Bolivia, Colombia, and Venezuela 3:0 each before facing Argentina.
The victory also returned the title to Brazil, which they had lost precisely against Argentina three years ago. In 2023 in Recife, the Argentinians defeated the hosts 3:0 and became South American champions for the first time since 1964. This broke Brazil's streak, as they had won every edition of the tournament they participated in since 1967.
Now Brazil has reclaimed the continental title, but the far greater prize is direct qualification for Los Angeles 2028. The South American Championship offered only one Olympic quota – to the champion – and after the victory over Argentina, the "Seleção" no longer needs to rely on the 2027 World Championship or the 2028 world ranking to reach the Olympic Games.
For Bernardinho's team, this is the maximum result from the week in Rio – a reclaimed South American title, five wins without a lost set, and most importantly: an Olympic ticket for Los Angeles 2028, secured nearly two years before the Games.

photo: Nikolay Varadinov