What do i need to do to make sure a judgment is not in plaintiffs favor?

If there is nothing written, then the judgment will be decided based on who's story is more believable. It's more than just your word against your friends, it is also a question of which story is more LIKELY to be the truth.

In other words, why would a friend give you $3,000? This is something that does not happen very often. It is much more common for a friend to LOAN you $3,000.

So you will be at a disadvantage because your version of events (it was a gift) is much less likely than your friends version of events (it was a loan). If you don't have a good reason why this person would have given you the money, rather than loaned it to you, you will probably lose.

It will help you if you can remember the EXACT conversation that you had with your friend about this gift. Can you remember the exact words he or she said when they said it was a gift? Do you remember where you were when you had this conversation? If you can't remember the exact conversation and the exact words, then it is much more likely you will lose.