It was the first medal awarded for team sports at the Rio games.

Cuba hadn't won the title since the Mar del Plata Pan Ams, when it won the last of its seven consecutive golds. It was runner-up in the last two games, losing the 2003 final to host Dominican Republic.

Brazil struggled to begin the tiebreaker and blew two match points before losing, to the disappointment of the nearly 12,000 fans who packed the Maracanazinho indoor arena.

Cuba led the first set by as many as five points before Brazil rallied to close out with two consecutive blocks.

The Cubans won the second after a series of late mistakes by Brazil's offense, but the hosts rebounded to clinch the third game. In a thrilling fourth set, both teams missed several set points before Cuba won 34-32.

Brazil was trying to win its first Pan Ams title since Winnipeg in 1999. It finished fourth in 2003 playing with a youth squad.

Brazil and Cuba are longtime rivals, but Brazil entered the final favored to win gold after dominating the earlier rounds. It reached the decisive match without losing a set.

The team coached by Jose Roberto Guimaraes won the last three Grand Prix events and was runner-up to Russia in last year's World Volleyball Championships. It had also won the Pan Ams in 1959 and 1963.

The United States, which lost to Brazil in the semifinals, took bronze by beating Peru 25-22, 25-22, 25-22.