As the only two Southeast Asian teams in the AFC Champions League Elite, Johor Darul Ta'zim and Buriram United have been entrusted to fly the flag for the region on the biggest stage the continent has to offer.
They have thus far done excellent jobs at that with both recording some impressive wins earlier on in the campaign.
But as the two teams met on Tuesday in what was shaping up to be a pivotal encounter for their respective hopes of advancing to the round of 16, they combined to produce a spectacle that was emblematic of the brilliant, but at times bizarre, nature of ASEAN football.
It may seem a stretch to call the 0-0 draw at Sultan Ibrahim Stadium a 'spectacle' but there was truly entertainment. One moment even had to be seen to be believed -- but more on that later.
It was never going to be a run-of-the-mill contest from the moment JDT were reduced to ten men as early as the 13th minute.
Murilo's illegal denial of a clear goalscoring opportunity to Dion Cools initially led to the award of a penalty yet, once the VAR review had deemed that contact had taken place outside the box, the subsequent amendment to a freekick meant that the double jeopardy rule was negated and the Brazilian was sent off for a last-man foul.
Instantly, the momentum was swung in the visitors' favour and they soon gained the ascendancy.
Nonetheless, in a moment of madness that will certainly leave their coach Osmar Loss exasperated, Buriram then relinquished their numerical superiority in ludicrous fashion.
In the final minute of the first half, as Theerathon Bunmathan had been bundled over along the wing, he was helped back to his feet by the man who had fouled him in Arif Aiman.
Theerathon initially looked to have accepted his opponent's peacemaking offer. Then, incredulously, he pinched at the genitals of Arif -- who instantly fell to the turf in agony.
It was a blink-and-you-miss-it moment of the most bizarre variety and the referee certainly did not catch it, even if Bergson da Silva immediately rushed over to confront the assault that his strike partner had been subject to.
In this day, however, match officials can afford to blink. The VAR doesn't miss it.
It did not take long for the referee to be called to the sideline monitor. Equally, he was soon striding back onto the field to issue a straight red to Theerathon -- who had only three minutes earlier picked up a booking.
Any indignation the Buriram camp may have shown in the immediate aftermath will surely dissipate once they realise what their captain needlessly -- and quite outrageously -- had done.
As the leader of the side and with bags of experience from his 16-year career, more would have been expected of Theerathon.
While well-loved by his supporters for all his achievements with club and especially country, including three ASEAN Championship triumphs and even a Most Valuable Player award in 2022, Theerathon just finds a way to be the pantomime villain each time he comes up against regional rivals.
With parity in terms of personnel now restored, the game was once up for grabs in the second half.
Arif, with no long-term damage inflicted, and Bergson started to threaten with increasingly regularity with the latter only denied in the 64th minute by a superb reflex save by Neil Etheridge, who would produce another brilliant if less-spectacular stop to keep out a rasping Heberty effort with five minutes remaining.
There was still time for one final flashpoint in the second minute of added time. Just a split second after the whistle had gone as Guilherme Bissoli just failed to keep the ball in play, Park Jun-Heong lunged in with an outrageous studs-up challenge that had the Buriram striker writhing in despair.
Park probably did not hear the whistle but, even if the ball was still in play, such a horrendous tackle would not have been warranted.
For the first time, VAR did not need to intervene in the South Korean becoming the third player on the night to be issued his marching orders.
A point apiece might still be a valuable gain. Buriram have now joined JDT inside the top eight -- which will advance to the knockout round -- although they could be on the periphery once more by Wednesday evening.
There could be longer-term repercussions though with both teams now losing key personnel for their next game, and maybe more, when the campaign resumes next year. A couple of these absences were probably needless.
JDT and Buriram will still continue to show they belong among the continent's elite, and their best genuinely is the cream of the crop to what Southeast Asia has to offer.
Somehow, whenever two teams from the region face off, they also almost inevitably produce the bizarre in ASEAN football.