DEFENDING champions St Andrew High School for Girls kept a firm hold on their Schools’ Badminton Eastern League title, while reigning champions Haile Selassie High are not letting go with just one match remaining.

St Andrew ended the competition unbeaten when they won their sixth and final match Thursday, beating St Jago High, 5-0, to top the league with 26 points.

Wolmer’s Girls finished runners-up with 23 points, ahead of Immaculate Conception, third on 16 points. The Queen’s School and St Hugh’s share fourth place with 13 points, one more than St Jago. Alpha finished in sixth and last with two points.

The top two in the Eastern League will play the top two in the Western League to contest the All-Island Final.

In boys’ competition, Haile Selassie High, on 18 points, will have to blank Campion College, 5-0, to top the group with Calabar (23 points).

Based on Rule 13, Haile Selassie will retain their title by the tie-breaker should they beat the Campionites by that margin.

According to Rule 13: “The schools will each play one another and the one with the most points will be declared the winner of the competition or in the case of more than one round, the winner of the round.

“In the case of a draw, the team(s) with the most wins in the round will be the higher-placed team(s). If the teams have the same number of wins, the team with the most draws (if any) will be the higher-placed team. If a draw still exists, the winner of the tie between the teams will be the higher-placed team.”

Haile Selassie crushed St Jago, 5-0, on Thursday to stay in the fight, and in touch with Wolmer’s Boys, who are also on 18 points after beating Campion College, 4-1, the same day.

St George’s College are on 15 points, in front of Jamaica College (10 points), Campion (five points) and St Jago (one point).

Because of Hurricane Sandy, the tournament has been longer than scheduled and several schools starting end-of-semester exams have decided to play the All-Island Finals in January.