WORLD CUP NOTES

The World Cup got hardly more than a passing mention Thursday in the Philippines as the NBA finals game--broadcast live on Manila TV at 9 a.m. local time--captured the attention of millions of Filipinos.

Unlike other countries in Southeast Asia, the Philippines has only a passing interest in soccer but is a rabid follower of basketball and the NBA. Michael Jordan is a national hero in the Philippines and in Manila many mini-buses have Chicago Bull stickers on their windows.

So many people watched the first Bull-Jazz game that the government came to a virtual standstill. The Civil Service Commission responded by saying bureaucrats could not watch the NBA playoffs at work.