The Tall Blacks got their Stankovic Cup campaign under way with a win in China overnight, edging a determined Venezuelan side 72-65.
Venezuela led 36-33 at halftime before New Zealand pulled away in the final quarter.
Best for the Kiwis was Corey Webster, who again led all scorers as he has done throughout the tour, with 22 points on eight of 14 shooting, including five from long range.
He received good support from Reuben Te Rangi with 13 points, while Isaac Fotu picked up 14 rebounds and contributed eight points in another strong all-round performance.
Everard Bartlett chipped in with eight key points.
Coach Paul Henare was pleased with the result and the finish to the game, but not the early going.
"We got the job done and any win should be enjoyed, we have worked hard on this tour and deserved to be on the right side of the result tonight.
However, we were guilty of underestimating the opposition and allowed them to get their confidence up and stay in the game for longer than perhaps they should have.
"But I was pleased with the reaction of the guys, the way a younger group set things up in the final quarter for the more experienced group to finish it was encouraging.
''We did sit two of our leaders tonight in Tom (Abercrombie) and Mika (Vukona) and at times that showed, not that this was a reflection on those on the floor, more it is about how important they are to our team."
The Tall Blacks next play Mexico tonight.
New Zealand 72 (Webster 22, Te Rangi 13, Fotu 8, Bartlett 8), Venezuela 65 (Centeno 13, Lopez 11, Valera 10).
