Awarded to the finest that was in debt (8)
I believe the answer is:
bestowed
'awarded' is the definition.
(bestowing is a kind of awarding)
'the finest that was in debt' is the wordplay.
'the finest' becomes 'best' (I've seen this before).
'that was in debt' becomes 'owed' ('they owed' means 'they were in debt').
'best'+'owed'='BESTOWED'
'to' is the link.
(Other definitions for bestowed that I've seen before include "Given as a gift" , "Granted" , "Gave; presented" , "Conferred" .)