The Otago Nuggets are well practised at stretching optimism to its limits.
They have asked fans to keep the faith while they have crashed to 14 consecutive losses in their comeback season, all along promising these young players would be better for the experience.
But are they? Not all experiences are good, after all.
And losing by 20-plus points most weeks must take its toll on team morale and individual confidence, not that anyone would ever admit to it.
For every inch of ground they have gained, there has always been the devastating setback of looking up at the scoreboard at the end of the game.
And it has not made for flattering reading: March 14: Cougars 104, Nuggets 71.
April 9: Giants 102, Nuggets 71.
May 14: Pistons 95, Nuggets 62.
May 28: Hawks 102, Nuggets 67.
But of all the losses, the one which was, arguably, the most disappointing was the 89-68 loss to the Manawatu Jets in Dunedin late last month, billed as the dance of the desperate.
The two teams had amassed a total of 21 losses without a win.
The Nuggets' defence that night was annoying rather than threatening - like a yappy corgi snapping at your heels.
And the offence was anaemic and ineffectual, much as it has been all year.
But the franchise has a shot at redemption in the return match in Palmerston North tonight.
Of the Nuggets' four remaining games, this shapes as the best opportunity to break the losing streak.
"It is just about a little bit of belief now," Nuggets coach Alf Arlidge said.
The rookie coach has exhausted most his options in search of an elusive win but said it was really down to the players to dig deep and find a way of winning.
"All year, our offence has been below par but I think we're getting better.
"I still think our shooting percentage from the free-throw line could be better. That annoys me a little bit.
"Last week we didn't shoot as many three-pointers and looked at going to the hole early on and try and get the referee to make some calls.
"I think this week we're going to try and do the same.
"Obviously, we're going to have to try and contain [Richard] Jeter, who had his best game against us.
"But I think we did a good job on [Darryl] Hudson the last time we played."
The Jets' two American imports combined for 54 points to help sink the Nuggets.
Jeter, in particular, had an outstanding game, scoring 34 points.
The undersized Nuggets struggled to put pressure on him or stop him driving to the basket.
And Hudson was able to control the tempo of the game and score with relative freedom.
Former Tall Black Chris Reay chipped in with 12 points and Matt Te Huna drained a brace of crucial three-pointers.
"Most weeks we do a pretty good job of stopping the guys we want to stop but someone else steps up.
"We are just a couple of guys short of being able to do that," Arlidge said.
"The main thing for us is to get guys to rebound a bit stronger than they have been.
We need the guys to start helping John [Barber jun] and Tyler [Amaya] on the boards."
The Nuggets play the Wellington Saints in the capital tomorrow night and the Christchurch Cougars next Thursday, before rounding out the season with a home game against the Hawke's Bay Hawks next Saturday.
Only two sides in the history of the National Basketball League have gone a season without a win.
The Taranaki Mountain Airs suffered that fate last year and the Northland Suns lost all 20 round-robin matches in 1998.
Nuggets v Jets
Palmerston North, 6pm
Otago Nuggets: John Barber jun, Tyler Amaya, Matt Gillan, Sam To'omata, James Ross, Matt Trueman, Tom Rowe, Riki Buckrell, Hayden Miller, Luke Aston, Chris Hepburn.
Manawatu Jets: Kaine Hokianga, Logan Funnell, Paul Bristol, Calum MacLeod, Darryl Hudson, Matt Te Huna, Piers Finch, Chris Reay, Richard Jeter, Hugh Quinlivan, Josh O'Connell.
