The Polish pair of Grzegorz Fijalek and Mariusz Prudel came agonisingly close to pulling off a major upset and in a dramatic final set were just a point away from their first-ever win over the Brazilian duo.
The Poles brought up match point at 14-13 in the decider but the Europeans could not deliver the killer blow, and Alison and Emanuel held on to complete a 21-17 16-21 17-15 victory.
Next up for Brazil's number one team is a semi-final meeting with Latvia's Martins Plavins and Janis Smedins, after they upset Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal of the United States.
The Brazilians were the clear favourites coming into tonight's match having won all their previous meetings with the Poles, but a tight first set suggested the South Americans were not going to have things all their own way.
It took some time for a telling difference to emerge between the teams, and when it did it came in the form of the towering Alison, who began to block effectively at the net.
Poland hit back with a series of well-placed attacks in the second to take the match to a decider, which finally went the way of Brazil with some telling late spikes.
'It was a fantastic game, it was very difficult against Poland,' said Athens 2004 gold medallist Emanuel.
'They played unbelievable. Towards the end I was not thinking anything, I was just focused on the ball. It was very stressful.'
Related content
- Athletes
- Sports
- Countries
