The Tall Blacks have advanced from their group at basketball's Asia Cup, defeating the Philippines 92-75 at Jakarta, Indonesia.
The victory sees New Zealand finish second in Group D, behind Lebanon, and they will face Syria on Tuesday (NZ time) for a spot in the quarter-finals.
The Kiwis made their superiority clear from the get-go, opening with a 30-point first quarter and extending their lead to 46-38 at halftime.
After dropping the second quarter 22-16, the Tall Blacks powered home to take the next two 21-14 and 25-23 to secure a much-needed win.
Flynn Cameron - son of coach Pero - led the Tall Blacks scoring with 18 points, supported by Taine Murray's 16, Kruz Perrott-Hunt (12), Tohi Smith-Milner (11) and Isaac Davidson (10).
The Tall Blacks complete the group stage with two wins and one defeat, beating India, but losing to Lebanon last week.
Victory against Syria would see the Tall Blacks matched against South Korea in the last quarter-final on Thursday.
New Zealand 92 (Cameron 18, Murray 16, Perrott-Hunt 12, Smith-Milner 11, Davidson 10) Philippines 75 (Ravena 17, Quiambao 14, Tamayo 14)
