Prior to last season, Malaysia's Johor Darul Ta'zim and Buriram United of Thailand -- two of Southeast Asian football's most-prominent clubs -- had never met in an official contest.
Since December, the two dominant forces of their respective nations have now faced off four times.
And in their latest encounter, Malaysia Super League champions JDT still cannot get one over their Thai League 1 counterparts -- even if it looked like that was finally going to be the case on Tuesday as they got their 2025-26 AFC Champions League Elite campaigns underway.
Despite finding the back of the net after just 23 seconds, although the goal was chalked off upon VAR review, and then taking the lead properly in the 28th minute, JDT contrived to concede twice in a five-minute span early in the second half to suffer a 2-1 loss at Chang Arena in Buriram.
For all their ambitious proclamations about their desire to be among Asia's best, JDT still have not quite figured out how to be the best even within the region.
It is reflected in their head-to-head record which now reads as two wins to Buriram and two draws.
And it is also illustrated in the fact that it was Buriram, and not JDT, that marched onto the quarterfinals of last season's ACL Elite at the direct expense of the MSL outfit courtesy of a 1-0 aggregate victory in the round of 16.
Buriram have now reached the quarterfinals of Asia's premier club competition twice. For all the investment that has gone into assembling a formidable squad that has now seen JDT crowned league champions in the past 11 campaigns, they are yet to get that far.
In defence of the Southern Tigers, there is barely any difference between the two teams. Their three meetings last season produced a solitary goal in the second leg of their last-16 encounter, a clear sign of cagey and attritional battles.
Still, it will frustrate JDT that they were not able to finally get one over their Southeast Asian rivals especially given the strong start they made to the contest on Tuesday.
Thankfully, for those who turned up at Chang Arena there was far more attacking intent, and three times as many goals, as there had been in their previous encounters combined.
It could have been more.
In a barnstorming start, JDT scored inside the opening minute through João Figueiredo -- only for the strike to be chalked off after he had been adjudged to have handled the ball in the build-up.
Just five minutes later, less actually considering the lengthy VAR review, it was Buriram's turn to encounter similar short-lived joy -- Guilherme Bissoli moving just a fraction too early to race through and finish past Andoni Zubiaurre even if the linesman's flag had originally stayed down.
With both sides showing plenty of endeavour, third time proved to be charm for JDT as the deadlock was finally broken in the 28th minute when Antonio Glauder reacted quickest to convert on the rebound after Jon Irazábal's initial header from a corner had forced Neil Etheridge into a fine save.
Holding onto the lead until the interval, a team of JDT's experience really should have handled the opening moments of the second half better.
Instead, gaps started to appear in their defence as Buriram -- in hope that their opponents were not fully warmed up again after the break -- looked to turn it up a notch.
New signing Robert Žulj had already been at the heart of everything meaningful Buriram had created in the opening 45.
Five minutes after the restart, as he collected the ball on a graceful half-turn, Žulj saw a channel that many others might not have and proceeded to send a slide-rule pass into the path of Suphanat Mueanta, who made no mistake in bending his effort beyond Zubiaurre's despairing dive and into the bottom corner.
Where it was Supachai Jaided and Lucas Crispim excelling as the two No. 10s behind Bissoli last season, those roles were entrusted to Žulj and Suphanat on Tuesday.
And just four minutes after Suphanat's equaliser, he would return the favour to his Austrian team-mate.
As he chased down a 50-50 ball on the left side of the JDT box, Suphanat would suddenly find himself clear after some hesitant defending - and a costly slip - from the otherwise-excellent Irazábal.
With no angle for a shot, the 23-year-old selflessly slid the ball across the six-yard box -- where Žulj had somehow been allowed to ghost in completely unmarked for the easiest of finishes.
In their six previous outings this season, JDT had conceded just three goals. But domestic competition -- one they have dominated for over a decade now -- is a different proposition to coming up against the continent's best.
Now having let in two goals in just a five-minute span, the Southern Tigers suddenly had it all to do again.
To their credit, they fought back hard but then found Etheridge in imperious form -- a brilliant save at full stretch to claw away a goal-bound header by Figueiredo with nine minutes remaining just one of his several win-securing contributions.
The road ahead to the knockout round of the ACL Elite is long. The new league-stage format of the tournament arguably allows more room for error but sterner tests also lie ahead -- and JDT will know they cannot afford to suffer too many more losses.
Even if winning the tournament is still a bridge too far, being the best-performing team from Southeast Asia would still be a creditable target for both them and Buriram.
Curiously, there is also now an alternative avenue to claim those bragging rights.
After a 20-year hiatus, the ASEAN Club Championship returned last season primarily featuring the best sides of the region. JDT turned down their invitation -- and it was Buriram who went on to be crowned champions of Southeast Asia officially.
The Southern Tigers have decided to participate this season. While both are currently in different groups, it would be a massive surprise if neither find themselves at the business end of the tournament next year.
Maybe then, JDT would have another avenue to get one over their growing rivals.
For now though, via a multitude of factors, Buriram can still boast of being the best team in Southeast Asia.