THE fans came in droves and they made sure their voices were heard.
With Gilas Pilipinas on the receiving end of an 88-63 beatdown from New Zealand, an enthusiastic but obviously unhappy crowd at the Smart Araneta Coliseum let Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) top brass know what they feel.
Chants of "We want Baldwin! We want Baldwin" rained down from the rafters as the homecrowd struggled to put up a semblance of a fight against what wasn't even the best team that the Tall Blacks can put together.
Until now, fans are left searching for answers after Tab Baldwin's sudden exit from Gilas in late January that led to Chot Reyes returning to the helm for Gilas.
Though the heckling didn't amount to boos, the uneasy feeling was palpable inside the Big Dome as the spread slowly grew in favor of a Tall Blacks side that utterly dominated a Gilas mix of PBA players and national pool mainstays.
Worse, Gilas and SBP didn't get any respite on social media as irate fans opened fire on Twitter after the lopsided loss.
[See Even on Twitter, irate fans call for Tab after Gilas loss]
It certainly was a tough night at the office for Reyes and Gilas as they exit the February bubble with a 1-1 win-loss card in Group A, heading to an uncertain future as the SBP plot its plans for the next qualifiers in June.
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