Rob Preston - MVP of the HDI All-Star Game
American forward Rob Preston didn't take part in the Slam Dunk Contest at the HDI All-Star Game of the Bulgarian National Basketball League, as it he was supposed to. But he took the biggest award from the game itself - the MVP of the All-Star Game 2009.
The Spartak Pleven player was a starter for the "Ledenika" team and played 21 minutes. He scored 11 points, as he went 4/4 for 2 and 1/2 for 3, adding also 7 rebounds (2 defensive and 5 offensive), 2 steals and 1 assist. All that made for an efficiency rating of 19 - the highest for the winning team.
Preston's compatriot Travis Peterson had a slightly better efficiency rating - 20, but he played for the losing side - the "Toyota" team. Peterson netted 13 points and grabbed the same amount of rebounds as Preston - 7.
Some other players also had a shot at winning the MVP honours, especially Veselin Veselinov of "Ledenika" - he had 15 points (including 3 treys) and 4 assists. Willie Deane (a double-doble of 11 points and 11 assists) and Stefan "Toro" Georgiev (14 points, 6 rebounds and 3 steals) would also have been contenders for the trophy, if their team had won the HDI All-Star Game.
Petar Avramov, the chairman of the HDI insurance company, gave out the award to Preston.
FULL STATS OF THE HDI ALL-STAR GAME 2009