Auckland, March 19 NZPA - Team New Zealand today made it through to the final of the Louis Vuitton Trophy yachting regatta, winning the deciding race of their semifinal against Italians Azzurra by 27sec.

The two crews had begun the day tied at 1-1, after Team NZ had won race two by a mere 2sec late yesterday to stay alive.

They now face another Italian entry, Mascalzone Latino, in a best-of-five final, which will start with one race today and conclude tomorrow.

Mascalzone beat Sweden's Artemis 2-1 yesterday in their semifinal.