The Tall Blacks have given themselves a confidence boost ahead of their Olympic Games basketball qualifier against Australia with victory in the Stankovic Cup in China.
With Corey Webster racking up a game-high 30 points, New Zealand beat Mexico 70-66 in a fiercely-fought final in Qingyuan.
It was their second success in the tournament, having also won it four years ago.
Attention now turns to the two-match series against the Boomers, beginning on August 15, with the winners qualifying for Rio next year.
Coach Paul Henare says it's important for the players to reflect on their success in China, during which they went undefeated in their four matches.
"These moments are rare for New Zealand basketball and we need to take the chance to be proud of what we've done," he said.
"But now we quickly turn our attention to the main focus. This is all leading up to the series against Australia. That is our one and only goal and we are only a few steps along the way."
Webster and Isaac Fotu were named in the tournament All-Star Five, while Webster took out the tournament MVP award.
In the final, the Tall Blacks withstood plenty of pressure to produce a big finish to get past Mexico.
Up by a point at half-time, they had to repel an opposition fight-back in the third quarter to stay ahead at the last break.
Mexico did edge in front in the final 10 minutes, but the Tall Blacks stepped up at both ends of the floor to clinch the title.
New Zealand dominated the boards 48-24, with Fotu collecting 18 rebounds to go with his 16 points.
Tom Abercrombie had a quiet scoring night but picked up seven boards in a key contribution.
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