Basketball: 'Cruisy' win not the tonic Tall Blacks wanted

The Tall Blacks didn't get the tough workout they wanted from a Venezuela side just going through the paces in their play-off for 3rd and 4th in Argentina today.

After five successive losses to Brazil -- four in Brazil in a test series and then the tournament opener yesterday -- the Tall Blacks relished the change of opponents, dominating the boards and promoting all 12 players into the scoring column.

Despite the much-needed victory, guard Phill Jones was a little disappointed with their performance.

"Venezuela didn't really seem that keen to play, to tell the truth," he said.

"I don't want to say it was a backward step, but the intensity wasn't there.

"We could feel ourselves cruising through the game at times. We want to be under pressure all the time and take that into the world championships."

Venezuela, missing injured starters Oscar Torres (sprained knee) and Hector Romero (dislocated elbow), shot terribly from both the arc and the free-throw line.

While centre Richard Lugo dominated early, scoring 10 of his 16 points in the first quarter and drawing Bradshaw into foul trouble, his team had little else to offer when he went to the bench.

Forward Craig Bradshaw continued his development as an international as the New Zealand basketball team eventually snapped out of their losing streak in South America with a 100-70 win over Venezuela in Santa Fe, Argentina, today.

Bradshaw scored eight points early before incurring two personal fouls and sat out the entire second quarter. He returned after halftime to lead all scorers with 22 points, including two three-pointers in the final period, in this Super Four tournament also involving Brazil and Argentina.

The Tall Blacks gained an upper hand with a flurry of treys from Pero Cameron (two) and Mark Dickel, leading 28-19 after the initial stanza. Their advantage reached double figures off a "bomb" from Benny Hill just before halftime.

Venezuela struck twice from the arc on the resumption, but completely lost their poise when Lugo was called for a foul and then a technical foul - his fourth personal one -- when he disputed the call.

The New Zealanders capitalised on his departure with a 13-0 run that put the game beyond doubt.

Soon after, Cameron, Phill Jones and Kirk Penney hit three treys in succession in an 11-2 outburst that carried the margin past 20 points (73-52).

The Tall Blacks finished third in the four-team tournament and now coach Tab Baldwin must prepare them to meet Olympic champions Argentina in their final match of the tour in Buenos Aires on Thursday (NZ Time).

Argentina are likely field a full-strength line-up, including NBA stars Manu Ginobili, Andres Nocioni, Carlos Delfino, Fabricio Oberto and Luis Scola.

"They are a pretty tough team but after playing Brazil I think we'll be alright ... we learned a few things that hopefully we can carry forward," centre Tony Rampton said.

"Ginobili is a pretty tough assignment, but the whole team is tough. It's not really one guy with them, it's the whole team."

SCORING

NZ Tall Blacks 100 (Craig Bradshaw 22, Phill Jones 17, Kirk Penney 12, Pero Cameron 12); Venezuela 70 (Richard Lugo 16).

- NZPA