Emelec won and was confirmed as favorite
The club from Guayaquil, which won the first stage, and qualified to the final of the national championship and the Libertadores and South American cups, beat Deportivo Quevedo in the ‘Siete de Octubre’ stadium, 3-1, and confirmed that it is the best team in the tournament, with the firm aspiration to win the second stage and become the champion without playing the finale.
At the start of the second phase of the Ecuadorian soccer tournament, the candidates to reach Emelec, stumbled: Barcelona barely managed a goalless draw with the weak Macara at the seized Monumental Stadium; Deportivo Quito was thrashed in Loja 4 – 0 by the Liga Universitaria de Loja, which premiered Alex Aguinaga as technical director; Liga de Quito lost 3-0 in its field of Ponciano to Universidad Católica; and Independiente fell in Manta 2-1. In the remaining match, Nacional tied 2-2 against Deportivo Cuenca.