MERCIFULLY, San Sebastian's woebegone campaign has come to a close.
Losing all of their 14 games this NCAA Season 102, the Golden Stags became only the second squad to record a winless run since the institution of the Final Four format in 1997.
READ: Perps takes care of business vs Baste, sets up quarters date with San Beda
But the downward spiral has actually gone longer than that.
Baste has not won a game in over a year, when Jhuniel dela Rama made clutch plays and helped his side take a 62-61 stunner against Perpetual back in Nov. 8, 2025.
Since then, the once-proud program in Recto lost its next 18 games - which ties them for the third-longest losing streak in the 'Grand Ol' League's' FInal Four era.
Worst of the worst
The worst losing skid, you ask? It belongs to Philippine Christian University.
The Dolphins, who came onboard in 1996, actually lost 41 straight games for the infamy of having the worst stretch of any team, bar none.
PCU entered via league expansion with Ricky Cui coaching, but went 0-12 in its initial foray. When the Final Four was introduced a season later, luck continued to elude the Dolphins, as they went 0-12 in Season 73 and 0-14 in Season 74 under coach Jojo Villapando.
Season 75 looked much the same for PCU when it started 0-3.
But the long awaited breakthrough finally came in the fourth game when the Dolphins, behind guards Loreto Soriano and Alwyn Ilagan and forward Ryan Soriano, stunned Mapua, 64-54, for their first-ever NCAA victory back in Aug. 16, 1999.
PCU even finished that campaign with a 5-9 card and five years later, captured its first and only crown in 2004.
Horror roll
The next teams to suffer prolonged stretches of agony did not come close to that length.
Perpetual lost 23 straight games from 2009 and 2010, when it fell in its final nine assignments in Season 85 and dropped its first 14 in Season 86.
Jett Vidal then caught fire and helped the Altas take the 69-52 win over Emilio Aguinaldo College in Sept. 22, 2010 to stop the slump for coach Boris Aldeguer.
Like San Sebastian at present, Benilde also trudged through an 18-game losing skid from 2015 to 2016 under coach Gabby Velasco.
After falling in their final game in Season 91 to Mapua, the Blazers would start off Season 92 on the wrong end of the scoreboard in their first 17 games.
It took a heroic performance from late Senegalese big man Clement Leutcheu to elude a winless campaig, as CSB earned the 65-61 win over Lyceum in its last game of the season back in Sept. 23, 2016.
Dishonorable mentions
Sitting at fifth on this list is guest team Angeles University Foundation, which lost 15 straight games in its lone participation back in Season 85.
After splitting their first two games, the Pampanga-based Great Danes would lose their next 15 games before finally ending their campaign with a 73-66 win over Perpetual thanks to Aaron Santos in Oct. 5, 2009.
San Beda, believe it or not, also suffered a 15-game losing slide from 2001 and 2002.
The Red Lions lost their last four games under coach Rene Baena in Season 77 and didn't have much success even with the entry of coach Budds Reyes in Season 78 where they fell in their first 11 games.
That skid was only arrested in controversial fashion after San Beda was awarded the forfeit win against PCU back in Aug. 7, 2002, as the two teams figured in a brawl that left only seven players on the court.
The Mendiola crew was actually leading, 79-60, in the payoff period when tensions erupted with 6:20 left in the game and forced the officials to put an end to the contest. They ultimately finished that season with a 2-12 record.
Mapua was also on the wrong side of history in 2013.
After starting the year 1-1, the Cardinals would undergo a 13-game losing skid back in Season 89.
It wasn't until Oct. 7, 2013 when Mapua, behind Jessie Saitanan, stunned eventual champion San Beda, 81-76, which prompted coach Atoy Co to utter his famous quote, "Kung may tiyaga, may nilaga."
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