Hugo Deneve & Neufchâteau turning heads early

Neufchâteau has been the surprise of the start of the season, sharing the second place in the standings with 3 wins and 1 loss.

Floréal BCCA Neufchâteau has been a regular in Top Division Men One over the last few seasons & last year they managed to secure a playoff spot, although they were eliminated in the first round by eventual finalist Guco Lier.

Over the summer the team lost their athletic big guy Mathis Bizimana to CB Liège and Simon Hissette called it quits. Romain Bruwier came over from Huntington University in the States, to reinforce the paint with his 2m03. But it would be a test to see how well the team would fare without Bizimana.

Well, so far, so good for Neufchâteau. They've started the 2025-2026 campaign off hot, winning the first 3 out of 4 games. And that has largely to do with do-it-all forward Hugo Deneve. In these first 4 games Deneve leads the team in points, rebounds, assists and steals with averages of 22.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 3 steals.

Neufchâteau won the first home game in a thriller versus Avanti Brugge: 81-78. Then followed the only loss against Kontich Wolves (89-102). Followed by a strong victory on the road in Ieper (73-83) and a home win against Willebroek: 78-65.

Addition Romain Bruwier has helped a lot, averaging 13.8 points and 5.8 rebounds and young guard Samuel Schadeck has chipped in with 12.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game.