Google: Pinoys more interested in basketball than Americans

The Philippines' Azkals team may have diverted Filipinos' attention to footbal for a while, but if Google Philippines' top search trends for the first week of June are any indication, Filipinos are still avid basketball fans through and through. In its latest report, Google Philippines revealed that the Philippines topped regional interest for the NBA Finals this week, overtaking even the US, where the games are held. In Game Five of the best-of-seven series on Friday, the Dallas Mavericks pulled off a 112-103 victory against the Miami Heat. The two teams vying for the NBA 2011 Championship title also figured in the the week's top search terms, but it was the Heat that garnered much online interest among Filipino basketball aficionados. One of Heat's star players, LeBron James, also figured in the list, edging the Mavericks' lead baller Dirk Nowitzki, despite the former's lackluster performance in the last two games, which cost Heat two consecutive wins in the series. Stars, rains and mutants Aside from basketball, the arrival of Ed Westwick, resident bad boy of US television series "Gossip Girl," also garnered a considerable amount of online buzz in the early days of June. The 23-year-old British actor was in the country to shoot an advertising promotion for local clothing brand Penshoppe. On the other hand, following the recent typhoons that passed by the country in recent weeks, search activity for the term "typhoon" spiked in early June, as Filipinos scramble to prepare for any impending disaster brought by the weather disturbances. The Philippines also ranked first in searches for "flood" and "landslide" worldwide from 2004 up to the present, the Google report noted. Surprisingly, the Philippines also drew the biggest worldwide interest in the movie "X-Men: First Class," which debuted in June 3. The latest installment in the X-Men movies tells of the origins of Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr, also known as Professor X and Magneto, the two main characters of the popular comic book series. Other top search terms for the week include The French Open quarterfinalists; Kapuso star Mikael Daez; and American Idol Season 10 winner Scotty McCreery. - TJD, GMA News