RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) — Brazil Captain Bruno said his side could no longer be accused of choking after beating Italy 3-0 to win men’s Olympic volleyball gold yesterday.

After losing the last two finals in Beijing and London, Brazil reclaimed the title they’d won in Athens as they beat Italy 25-22, 28-26, 26-24 at the Maracazinho in Rio.

A day after the Brazilian football team ended their 120-year wait to finally win Olympic gold, the volleyball team erased memories of their dramatic collapse against Russia in London, triumphing with football star Neymar looking on.

“We deserved this medal so much. It’s much more special to do it at home; it’s a magical moment,” said Bruno, who is the son of coach Bernardo.

“Everything we went through and now we are Olympic champions. This generation was said to be chokers. After so many silvers, now we’re gold.”

The United States beat Russia 3-2 in the battle for bronze between the last two Olympic champions.

Led by 20 points from the tournament’s top scorer, the impeccable Wallace, Brazil avenged a 1-3 pool stage defeat to the Italians, who have never won Olympic gold, losing in the final three times now.

“I’m proud of what we’ve done because the whole team worked hard together — each one played with heart,” said Italy outside setter Ivan Zaytsev.

“We’ve given a great account of ourselves; we showed a winning mentality.

“We could have finished with the gold medal, but even though we didn’t, we gave our all, so we have a very solid base for the future.”

It was a fourth final in a row for Brazil, who also beat Italy in Athens in 2004 before losing to the US in Beijing and suffering a Russian comeback four years ago in London after leading by two sets to nil.

Despite the presence of 2.09-metre (6ft 10in) tall giants Lucas and Souza, it was the relatively diminutive 1.96m Lipe who rose to get the crucial block on the final point and send a packed home crowd into party mode.