Beijing, China, August 18, 2008 - There will be a Brazilian team on an Olympic Beach Volleyball podium for the fourth-straight Summer Games as two men’s pairs from the South American country claimed “final four” berths here Monday evening to advance to a semi-final meeting between the two tandems at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

With teams from Georgia and the United States qualifying for the men’s “final four” during Monday’s morning session, the Brazilian tandems of third-seeded Emanuel Rego/Ricardo Santos and fourth-seeded Marcio Araujo/Fabio Magalhaes won quarter-final matches during the evening session at the 12,200-seat Chaoyang Park Beach Volleyball Ground.

The South American men are guaranteed a men’s silver medal at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games as the two teams meet in Wednesday’s semi-finals.

The reigning Olympic champions, Emanuel and Ricardo scored a 21-18 and 21-16 win in 50 minutes over sixth-seeded Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal of the United States after Marcio Araujo and Fabio advanced to the “final four” with a 22-20 and 21-17 win in 55 minutes over 24th-seeded Florian Gosch and Alexander Horst of Austria.

With top-seeded Penggen Wu and Linyin Xu of China being ousted in the first-round of the elimination bracket, Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers of the United States remain as the top-ranked team in the competition after the second-seeded Americans gained a semi-final berth Monday morning with a 21-13 and 25-23 win in 55 minutes over ninth-seeded David Klemperer and Eric Koreng of Germany.

Monday’s biggest “surprise’ was a 21-19 and 21-19 victory in 52 minutes by Renato "Geor" Gomes and Jorge "Gia" Terceiro of Georgia over fifth-seeded Reinder Nummerdor and Richard Schuil of the Netherlands. With the win, the Georgians are guaranteed their best-ever international Beach Volleyball finish in becoming their country’s first men’s team to reach a FIVB semi-final.

The Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Beach Volleyball semi-finals will be played Tuesday for women and Wednesday for men. The medal matches are set for Thursday for women and Friday for men. Two teams from China are joined by Beach Volleyball pairs from Brazil and the United States in the women’s “final four”.