Derthona Tortona, Vicenzutto's comments ahead of the trip to Udine

Bertram Derthona Tortona will face Old Wild West Udine in Round 6 of LBA Serie A on Sunday at 17:00 at PalaCarnera. The team is heading to the first of two consecutive away games after playing four straight home games in the league and cup. Next up is a trip to Ljubljana.

In the standings, Tortona sit two points behind Udine. Udine had found some momentum on Wednesday, beating Rostock at Nova Arena in the EuroCup. Both teams are coming off losing streaks. Udine have lost three league games and their last two away games, at Treviso and Roma.

Excluding the overtime game against Cantù, Tortona's defence is the best in Serie A, conceding 79.4 points per game. Udine, on the other hand, rank last in three-point and field-goal percentage and second-last in offence. The hosts, however, stand out on the boards. Under Skylar Spencer, Udine are second in both offensive and total rebounds.

Tortona assistant coach Andrea Vicenzutto, a Friulian from Fiume Veneto, sees this game as a personal derby. He said he expects it to be a tense game. He pointed to Udine's playmakers Sisko, Battle and Valentine, as well as the combinations of Calzavara and Bucarelli. For Amar Alibegovic, the game also means a return to the city where he grew up.

In last season's two meetings, each team won on the road. Tortona won 94-90 in Udine. Udine, in turn, took the rematch at Nova Arena with an 80-79 win.