Star netballer shines at national championships

Keyana Philander, 18, a Grade 11 pupil at Portland High School, was named the best centre court player in her division at last week's national Telkom Netball Championships in Bellville.

- FUAD ESACK

Her ball distribution skills and accurate passing caught the judges' eyes, as she was also named in SA Netball's Top 35 talent identification programme, following the tournament, which ended last Friday.

Although a bit nervous in the opening stages, the young player quickly found her rhythm to help the Western Cape Willows under-18 side clinch the gold medal.

“The fear of getting injured, and the physical toll on my body playing tough games back-to-back, was no joke,” she said.

“We had one training camp ahead of the tournament, so our time to bond and build chemistry was limited, but we made the most of it and gave our all on the court,” she said.

Born into a family that loves netball, Keyana has been playing since a young age, mostly at centre but equally comfortable on wing defence (WD) and goal defence (GD).