MANILA: Rain or Shine has never had it this good.

And for the first time in such a long, long while, Red Bull has never had it this bad.

The Elasto Painters survived a minor second quarter hiccup last night before going on to rout the Barako, 100-92, in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Ynares Center, marking a milestone for Rain or Shine and a blackeye for Red Bull.

Rain or Shine improved to 7-6 with the win as the squad equalled the franchise’s victory total in each of the last two seasons after getting 18 points from Eddie Laure and an inspired performance from super rookie Gabe Norwood.

Red Bull, on the other hand, lost for the sixth straight game and remained in the cellar with a 3-9 card, needing to put together a string of victories to make even a stint in the wildcard phase possible heading into the final six games of its schedule.

The Barako have never lost this so many games in a string in recent memory and it could be safe to say that its run of four straight semifinal appearances has come to an abrupt end — no thanks to lopsided player trades that severely weakened their lineup.

Carlo Sharma led the Barako with 18 points and Cyrus Baguio was good for 13. But Red Bull still fell after the Painters ran at every given opportunity and gang-rebounded like crazy to frustrate Red Bull.

Allan Salangsang hit 4-of-5 attempts from three-point range and finished with 17 for the Painters, who got 13 points and seven rebounds in 32 minutes from Norwood .

Rain or Shine, then known as the Welcoat Dragons, never won more than four games in a conference and seven in a season while being eliminated in their first four tournaments in the PBA.

And being where they are now — in a tie for third place with defending champion Sta. Lucia — the Painters have a realistic chance at snaring at outright berth in the playoffs, being just two games out of the pace being set by Alaska.

The defending champion Realtors, who had sophomore guard Ryan Reyes for the second straight game, also rose to 7-6 by humbling the Aces earlier, using a torrid second half to erase an eight-point deficit after two quarters to post the convincing win.

“There’s still a long way to go,” Rain or Shine coach Caloy Garcia told Arab News. “Though we are excited at the prospects of making the playoffs for the first time, we wouldn’t want to lose focus on the task at hand, and that is taking it one game at a time.”

Three other players — Jireh Ibanez, Mark Isip and rookie TY Tang scored in twin digits for Garcia, who really didn’t feel the sub-par performance of Solomon Mercado, who finished with just three points in 24 minutes.

Nelbert Omolon scored 20 points and Norman Gonzales tossed in all but two of his 19 in the final two periods earlier as the Realtors rallied to post a 92-80 victory over Alaska.

Omolon scored 13 of his total in the final half, where the Realtors limited the Aces to just 37 points.

Alaska, which got 22 points from former two-time MVP Willie Miller, dropped to 9-4 overall, but stayed in the lead just the same. Idle San Miguel is now just a full game back at 8-5.

Miller was effectively shut down by the Sta. Lucia defense in the second half, scoring just five. Tony dela Cruz had 17 points and LA Tenorio 14 for the Aces.

Meanwhile, the Beermen and Talk ‘N Text left for Singapore yesterday as both teams clash in that progressive island tomorrow afternoon.