Venezuela's Victor Diaz (L) drives the ball pass Nigeria's Jeff Varem during their match at the world basketball championships in Sendai August 20, 2006. [Reuters]

Nigeria made a late run and closed the gap to 73-68 with three minutes remaining, but Diaz hit a 3-pointer with 20 seconds left to seal the win for Venezuela.

Diaz was 6-for-10 from the 3-point line. Oscar Torres and Miguel Marriaga each added 14 points to give the South Americans their first win.

"Victor is our most experienced player and he hit some huge shots for us today," said Venezuela coach Nestor Salazar. "He was a lot more focused today and we needed him to step up and he did."

Venezuela, which lost 82-72 to Lebanon in its opening match Saturday, took control of the match in the second quarter, scoring 26 points to take a 42-27 lead.

Nigeria upset defending champion Serbia-Montenegro 82-75 on Saturday but struggled against Venezuela and trailed 64-49 heading into the final period.

Ime Udoka, who played for the New York Knicks last season, led Nigeria with 23 points. Both teams stand at 1-1 in Group A.

Ebi Ere, who scored 13 points for the Africans, hit a pair of 3-pointers late in the fourth quarter to pull Nigeria to within seven points but it wasn't enough.

"We came out too relaxed, not tense enough" said Ere. "In a tournament like this you've got to play hard every day. You either win or you go home."