The Tall Blacks registered their second win in four outings at Izmir today to confirm their presence in the knockout phase.
They beat Canada 71-61 after overpowering Lebanon yesterday, which is enough to guarantee them a top-four finish in group D ahead of their final match tomorrow against France.
Coach Nenad Vucinic said his side were delighted to attain a second round spot.
"We are very pleased that we are going to the next round. It is a huge achievement for the team and we are very proud of that," he said after watching the Tall Blacks effectively eliminate Canada after the north Americans slumped to their fourth successive loss.
Vucinic expects a tough outing against the French, who he expects to top the group after earlier beating defending world champions Spain.
"We approach every game the same, we will go out there and try and play an attacking game. We know how tough it will be, they are an extremely athletic team. But we just want to take care of how we play the game."
Today, Canada did not fully extend the New Zealanders, who were again led by outstanding shooting guard Kirk Penney, who topscored with 18 points.
Vucinic admitted the match had few highlights for those wanting to see some style.
"It wasn't a pretty game,'' Vucinic said.
"But those pressure, must-win games for both teams are never really pretty.
"It was a must-win game for us and we played accordingly.
Both sides battled in a scrappy first quarter, with New Zealand taking an 11-8 lead despite committing five turnovers in the first five minutes before using a 8-0 run to lead 39-28.
Canada went to the line consistently in the third quarter but only made seven of 13 free throws. They closed the gap to 47-43 on a layup by Ryan Bell with less than 10 minutes remaining but couldn't finish off the comeback.
Penney had more than able support, with Casey Frank scoring 14 points -- including four-of-five field goals and all four free throws -- while Phill Jones chipped in with 11.
Also, Thomas Abercrombie hauled in 10 rebounds and it was his presence under the basket which enabled the Tall Blacks to shade Canada 41-32 in rebounds, a factor Vucinic said was crucial for one of the shortest teams at the championship.
