Raiders also duly declined. After six years of sponsorship from Kularoos, the Raiders board announced during the summer of 2008 a major new deal had been reached with Plymouth-based chewing gum giant Wrigley's Airwaves, reportedly "one of the biggest in basketball history". The extra funds brought in allowed for a bigger budget in terms of recruiting, and within days the signing of Kwbana Beckles was publicised. Beckles came with plenty of pedigree having appeared in Sweden, Switzerland, Israel and spells for NBA teams Atlanta Hawks and Toronto Raptors. Veteran player DeAntoine Beasley took up the new dual role as player/assistant coach, declining a coaching job in the USA while captain Gavin Love, who missed much of the previous season through injury signed a new one-year contract. In October, the team was boosted with the visit of a FIBA inspection team that approved the use of the Pavilions for European competition matches, providing a top-two finish is achieved in the Championship. In the BBL Cup the Raiders won a two-game Semi-final series against Guildford to reach only their second BBL Final. Their final opponents were Everton Tigers who recorded a 103–49 victory over Plymouth at the NIA in Birmingham. At the end of January Coach Stronach announced the signing of Gerald Robinson, an American with a Dutch passport, from Spanish team Oviedo. A week later, Gavin Love announced he was to retire from playing after 13 years with the Raiders, citing multiple injuries as the reason. In honour of his services to the club, his number six jersey was to be retired at a ceremony on 14 February 2009 prior to a game with Guildford. Israeli Point Guard Haggai Hundert was drafted in from Slovenia to fill the void left by Love. The franchise expanded on its ambitions to play in Europe with the announcement on 16 March, of a co-operation deal with Spanish giants Unicaja Málaga; the alliance will see Raiders coaches going to Spain to gain experience and young players coming to Plymouth to improve their English and education. A 96–73 defeat at the hands of Sheffield Sharks saw injuries to Andrew Lasker, Anthony Martin and Terrence Durham. In April 2009 it was announced that Andrew Lasker had made the team of the season. In summer 2009 Stronach revealed that the player's budget had been cut by 60–65% for the coming season, citing the economic climate and a lack