Texters, Gin Kings go for the KILL on illegal sex products online
PBA Wednesday: Texters, Gin Kings go for the kill
Talk ‘N Text and Ginebra try to arrange a dream title duel in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup as they go for the kill Wednesday night in their respective semifinals series at the Araneta Coliseum.
The Tropang Texters, the No. 1 seeded team, try to finish off Air21 Express in their 5 p.m. encounter, while the Kings hope to shut the door on Smart Gilas when they tangle in the main game at 7:30 p.m.
Both the Kings and Tropang Texters hold commanding 2-0 leads in their respective Final Four pairings.
In the event they make short work of their opponents, Talk `N Text and Ginebra will be squaring off in the Finals for only the second time in league history. They met in the 2005 Philippine Cup championship which the Kings won, 4-2, under then coach Siot Tanquingcen.
Only three teams have come back from a 0-2 deficit and win a best-of-five
series — the legendary Crispa ballclub (1975), Purefoods (1990) and, yes, Ginebra (2010), which ironically beat Talk `N Text in the Fiesta Cup quarterfinals.
The experience certainly taught a lesson to Talk `N Text coach Chot Reyes.
“As you all know, we can’t be satisfied. We already lost a 2-0 lead in a best-of-five series," said Reyes, recalling his team’s heartbreaking defeat at the hands of the Kings last year, marred by that infamous Game 4 walkout.
“It’s still a dangerous situation. This team (Air21) takes pride in winning do-or-die games."
The Tropang Texters have been nothing short of dominant in the semis, beating the Express by an average of 12.5 points in the first two games of the series, including a runaway 114-96 victory in Game 2.
Despite the gigantic task ahead, the Express remain optimistic about pulling off this one, having gone 4-0 this conference when facing ouster, especially during the final stretch of the eliminations.
“Who knows? Baka pwede pa. Only God knows," said Air21 coach Bong Ramos.
“For us to beat them, we really have to bring not just our A-game, but our A-plus game."
Smart Gilas also need to have the same mentality, especially after having lost two games against Ginebra down the stretch, when the Kings’ vast experience obviously stood out as the big difference in the tightly-fought series.
“Ginebra has the big advantage, but we still have a chance," said Gilas head coach Rajko Toroman. “We were not in the level that we should be in the first two games, but I hope we could change that with some minor corrections."
Toroman noted how the Kings were awarded 45 free throws in the Nationals’ 110-103 loss in Game 2, 35 of which Ginebra converted, including 23 by import Nate Brumfield.
The stocky Brumfield finished with a season-high 45 points.
“I do know how to defend a player who gets 27 free throw attempts," said the Serbian mentor. “But I do not know how to beat a team that has many free throw attempts."
Ginebra coach Jong Uichico and gunner Mark Caguioa go into the game fresh from fines slapped on them by the league — Uichico for making statements considered detrimental to the league, and which cost him P30,000, and Caguioa for a flagrant foul 2 and an F1 against Marcio Lassiter worth P15,000. - KY, RCJ, GMA News
China cracks down on illegal sex products online
BEIJING, April 20 (Xinhua) -- China has launched a nationwide campaign to crack down on the spread of misinformation through online sales of sex products, according to a government statement on Wednesday.
The crackdown is carried out to help facilitate the healthy sexual development of adolescents, said the six government departments that jointly launched the campaign.
Statistics from the China Illegal Information Internet Reporting Center showed that more than 4,000 complaints concerning incorrect information on sex products have been received since last year.
The information is usually transferred through false advertising and labeling of sex products, said the statement.
Over 90 percent of so-called "sex medicines" without approval numbers were found to be counterfeited. These products do not provide any medical benefits, and some even have harmful side effects, said the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA).
Even worse, some illegal drugs such as ecstasy and crystal meth were also found in online stores, where they were being advertised as "sex medicines". These drugs are extremely harmful and can lead to higher rates of crime and juvenile delinquency, said the statement.
Online advertisements for sex products often contain pornographic content, and have become a channel for the spread of vulgar information, according to the statement.
The new campaign will discourage the dissemination of obscene information and content, said the statement.
The crackdown was jointly carried out by the State Council's Information Office, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Health, State Administration for Industry and Commerce, and the SFDA.
These government departments said the public may report illegal information by calling a special hotline at 12377 or logging onto net.china.cn.
