On the back of a glorious display from Theerathon Bunmathan, Buriram United have successfully defended their ASEAN Club Championship crown -- with a 2-1 win over Selangor in Wednesday's final second leg at Chang Arena securing a 3-1 aggregate triumph.
It was the Red Giants who had struck first in the 18th minute through a speculative effort from distance by Syahir Bashah, which cancelled out the advantage the hosts had taken back to Thailand from last week's opening encounter in Petaling Jaya.
But after he had set up Suphanat Mueanta's equaliser on the night with a visionary pass ten minutes later, Theerathon would then get a goal of his own -- with a stunning volleyed effort from the edge of the box -- to seal the victory, and the title, for the Thai League 1 giants.
The perfect night for Theerathon, and Buriram, did however end on an unsavoury note when he was sent off deep in injury-time for retaliation -- literally a second before the final whistle.
Nonetheless, it was to be a minor blemish on an evening where Buriram backed up an equally-thrilling triumph over Công An Hà Nội last season to establish their status as kings of Southeast Asian football.
Credit has to go to underdogs Selangor, who had already earned themselves plenty of credit for a stirring run to get this far. And having declared that they would be going all out in their search for an equaliser early on, the Red Giants certainly did not disappoint.
Having made all the early running, and with Buriram goalkeeper Neil Etheridge already getting his palms stung in the after ten minutes by a powerful drive from Nooa Laine, the visitors would duly break the deadlock on the night -- and level the aggregate scores -- in the 18th minute.
After an initially-patient build-up by Selangor had broken down, Suphanat looked set to lead a counterattack down the middle only to be dispossessed by Syahir -- who only in the starting XI due to the absence of Noor Al-Rawabdeh, who has already joined up Jordan's preparations for the FIFA World Cup.
Without showing any hesitation, Syahir would proceed to let fly from all of 30 yards and his speculative effort looked to have caught out Etheridge, who allowed the ball to squirm under him and into the back of the net.
Just three minutes later, the Buriram goal was under attack once more.
First, Chrigor broke down the right and, while his low drive from an acute angle was always likely to be saved, the sheer power on his shot meant Etheridge could only push it back into a dangerous area -- where Kingsley Schindler was required to desperately hack the loose ball to safety with Faisal Abdul Halim ready to pounce.
Selangor recycled possession and an opening was then carved out for Zikri Khalili, only for his fierce effort to be parried by Etheridge.
Then, the Theerathon show began.
Just as it was with the only goal of the first leg, it was his seemingly-telepathic connection with Suphanat that worked wonders for the hosts.
On that occasion, it was his clipped ball from outside the box that paved the way for Suphanat to score with a header. This time, he was almost near the halfway line when he looked up and immediately spotted his younger teammate's clever run off the shoulder of Mamadou Diarra.
With that trademark nonchalant swing of his left foot, Theerathon sent the ball exactly where it needed to be -- allowing Suphanat to run onto the bounce and expertly lift a shot over the onrushing Sikh Izhan and in off the post.
After a sluggish start, Buriram were now back in business.
Guilherme Bissoli was unlucky to be denied by the woodwork in the 37th minute when he was played in by Robert Žulj, although he really should have done better than to find the bar with plenty of goal to aim for.
Likewise, Schindler -- who scored Buriram's crucial winner in the semifinals against Johor Darul Ta'zim -- was also left wondering how he had not scored when he completely missed the target with a free six-yard header from a corner three minutes before the break.
Selangor would find a second wind immediately after halftime but, like he did in the semis when he conceded a penalty but then saved a certain goal right at the death, Etheridge would again draw on all his experience to bounce back from an earlier error to weigh in with a crucial contribution.
The Philippines international already did well enough in the 48th minute to thwart a low effort from Pernambuco, but would follow that up a minute with a stunning reflex save after Hugo Boumous' delivery from the right missed two teammates but ended up heading straight for the bottom corner.
Five minutes before the hour mark, it was time for Theerathon to step up once more.
He had already given a couple of warnings in the first half when corners were cleared to him at the edge of the box. His first attempt was wayward, while the second might have been on target if it had not been deflected wide by a flying body in his path.
Still, even if Selangor deserve some blame for not heeding the signs, they would also have been left marvelling at Theerathon's incredible strike -- as he sized up a clearance from a corner as it dropped from the sky, before unleashing a stunning first-time volley that dipped just in time to clip the underside of the bar and land in the back of the net.
The woodwork was starting to become as responsible as the goalkeepers in keeping out goals.
A barnstorming run by Schindler in the 69th minute saw him leave Alvin Fortes for dead before his deflected shot came back off the post.
Three minutes later, Buriram wasted an excellent opportunity to kill off the contest when they had a three-on-two counter. Bissoli and Žulj both had chances to pull the trigger but opted to be unselfish. By the time the latter laid it on to his brother Peter Žulj, Diarra was able to recover and make a crucial tackle.
If Selangor were to pull off any sort of miraculous comeback, they had to score soon -- and they nearly did in the 77th minute.
And if Etheridge had not already made amends for letting in the opening goal, he would do so right there and then -- producing a world-class save to tip Chrigor's towering header onto the post and back out at full stretch, after the Brazilian looked destined to get his side back into the contest.
In the end, Buriram just had too much quality and experience to handle the situation. They even had a third goal by Robert Žulj disallowed upon VAR review for a foul in the build-up in injury-time, but it ultimately wouldn't matter.
As is the case with Theerathon's red card right at the death, when he appeared to kick out at an opponent after both were on the ground following a challenge.
He will miss the start of Buriram's next ASEAN Club Championship campaign but that is something to worry about in the future.
In the present, it was his outstanding performance that has led his side to back-to-back regional crowns.